WORLD
IS ENTERING SECOND NUCLEAR AGE, SAYS NATO EXPERT
A
NATO expert said today (Saturday) that the world had entered a “second
nuclear age” in which many of the rules that applied in the days of the Cold War
stand-off between East and West no longer applied.
“The
end of the Cold War has removed a specific political and military context in
which nuclear weapons contributed to mutual deterrence and mutual restraint,”
Michael Rühle, Senior Policy Advisor to the NATO Secretary General,
said.
Mr
Rühle, who is also head of the speechwriting unit, was addressing a meeting of
the NATO Parliamentary AseemblyÂ’s Political Committee on the subject of the
implications of a nuclear Iran
during the NATO Parliamentary AssemblyÂ’s annual session in
Reykjavik,
Iceland.
“The
lack of new nuclear rules, together with an ever-accelerating process of
globalisation, has sparked developments that put tremendous pressure on the
traditional non-proliferation regime.
IranÂ’s
nuclear programme is one such development; the proliferation of ballistic
missiles is another one,” he told parliamentarians.
Mr
Rühle said, however, that despite the above problems there was no reason to be
overly pessimistic.
“We
can shape events, and donÂ’t have to be their victims. Indeed, developments over
the last years reveal the emergence of a new set of rules that might supplement
the traditional non-proliferation regime,” he declared.
He
said he believed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which will evolve by way of UN
Security Council resolutions, will remain the central framework for identifying
unwelcome behaviour and initiating appropriate responses. But, “dealing with
problem cases will increasingly follow individual approaches”, as developments
in Libya
and North
Korea
have demonstrated.
Coercive
measures, such as fighting maritime smuggling or imposing economic sanctions
against proliferators, will make the non-proliferation regime more effective.
But, Mr. Ruhle concluded, “nuclear deterrence, Alliance-wide ‘extended
deterrenceÂ’ and ballistic missile defence will remain the last line of defence
in case non-proliferation fails.”
The
NATO PA brings together some 248 parliamentarians from 26 NATO member states,
delegates from 16 associate countries, five Mediterranean associate countries,
the European Parliament and parliamentary observers from several other
countries, including Afghanistan
and Pakistan.
NATO
PA PRESS OFFICE
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Jonathan Clayton, Press Officer
Mobile:
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Roberta
Calorio
Media
relations Co-ordinator
Mobile: +354 617
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