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News about the NATO Nuclear Planning Group and U.S.-Russia arms control talks

No to war - no to NATO Network Posted on by

by Alicia Sanders-Zakre

Hope you are hanging in there. I wanted to send an update about some recent nuclear policy news that provide opportunities for campaigners to be speaking up and taking action on eliminating nukes.
 
 
NATO Nuclear Planning Group 

First, as you may have already seen, NATO held a nuclear planning group meeting this Wednesday. You can read more about it in this press conference with Stoltenberg. I also found this thread by Oliver Meier and this article to be informative. Key takeaways:

  • NATO allies acquiring new air and missile defense systems
  • NATO to “strengthen our advanced conventional capabilities” – the news article claims this could mean deploying conventional intermediate-range missiles that could be equipped with nuclear warheads in times of crisis. 
  • NATO has “no intention to deploy new land-based nuclear missiles in Europe.” 
  • NATO planning group “decided on additional steps to keep the NATO nuclear deterrent safe, secure and effective” – we need more information about what these steps are. 
  • Stoltenberg also makes problematic statements about how NATO’s nuclear weapons “served us well for decades,” and is “vital for peace and freedom in Europe,” in the midst of the German debate about hosting nuclear weapons and with Kjolv Egeland’s helpful recent academic analysis which explains that NATO only officially started calling itself in 2010.
This is a great time for campaigners to make their voices heard, by reaching out to parliamentarians and sharing information on social media. A few possible talking points include (but welcome your ideas and perspective on what works best in your local context):

  • With 75th anniversary of bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki approaching, now is the time for world leaders to commit to abolish nuclear weapons, not increase reliance on them.
  • The majority of people in NATO nuclear host states reject nuclear weapons and want their country to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – it is time for NATO political elites to listen to the people!
  • (Particularly for campaigners in NATO states) Look up the number of cities in your country that have joined the ICAN cities appeal and use that information to underline that the people in your country reject nuclear weapons.
Some of you may have already spoken out or taken action on this, and we’d love to know what you do in the future. Please share your activities with us so we can amplify or share additional information that would be helpful for others.
 
U.S.-Russia arms control talks June 22
 
Secondly, we wanted to bring your attention to a planned U.S.-Russia arms control meeting in Vienna on Monday, June 22. It is possible the two countries will discuss extending New START, but so far the US has insisted on including China on any new arms control deal before thinking about extending New START, and China refuses point blank. This is a good opportunity to remind the media and politicians:
  1. Joining and implementing existing international disarmament agreements, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and, of course, the TPNW is paramount and;
  2. As the 75th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski approach, we need to focus on the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons and the call from hibkausha to eliminate nuclear weapons.
We expect a lot of the media coverage to focus on if U.S. and Russia will extend New START and the political drama of the US trying to get China to join the talks, and we’d love to draw attention back to these important points. There’s a few ways to engage here, if you’re interested:

  • We sent out a media backgrounder to journalists (attached) which you can adapt and send to local journalists ahead of the meeting as well
  • We’re working with ICAN Austria to place an op-ed from Beatrice and you can also write op-eds, using the meeting as a timely hook to get the message out
  • Austrian campaigners are working on possibly putting on a protest in Vienna around the meeting venue (we’re still working on establishing where it is) – you can also consider organising a protest and sharing photos with us so we can amplify
Anyways, look forward as always to hearing your ideas and sharing your actions!
 
Best,
Alicia
 

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Alicia Sanders-Zakre

Policy and Research Coordinator
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
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Phone: +41 22 788 20 63
icanw.org
Timezone: Geneva (CET / GMT + 1:00 )
 
Ican nobel@2x.png

 

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