By Aar Jay Persius BERLIN (IDN) — U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed at their June 16 summit in Geneva the principle agreed on by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. They also decided to […]
The US Builds A ‘Systemic’ Pact to Counter China’s Growing Influence
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — Nearly five months after the termination of Donald Trump’s erratic presidency, US President Joe Biden has triggered a sort of ‘systemic’ pact against China—with partners in the Group of Seven (G-7), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the European Union (EU) at the June 11-15 summits. Thirty […]
NATO Plans to Focus on Russia and China
By Robert Johnson BRUSSELS (IDN) — “What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,” French President Emmanuel Macron declared in a blunt interview with The Economist in November 2019. Europe stands on “the edge of a precipice”, he said, and needs to start thinking of itself strategically as a geopolitical power; otherwise, […]
Optimism Over Progress in Vienna Talks on Iran Nuclear Deal
By Kelsey Davenport, Julia Masterson and Sang-Min Kim While Kelsey Davenport is Director for Nonproliferation Policy and Julia Masterson, Research Associate at the Arms Control Association, Sang-Min Kim is Scoville Fellow. WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — The United States, Iran, and the other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal expressed varying degrees of optimism over the […]
Plea for Diverting Funds from Nuclear Weapons to Combating COVID-19
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) — The Nobel laureate International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations nuclear weapon ban treaty, has been pleading for divestment in nuclear weapons. “The imminent entry-into-force of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear […]
The UK Defies Nuclear Treaties and Strengthens Atomic Arsenal
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) — Within three months of the UK’s complete withdrawal from all institutions of the European Union and from the European Atomic Energy Community on January 31, 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has decided to increase by 40 per cent to 260 the country’s nuclear arsenal to “continue to be the […]
UN Youth4Disarmament Recognized by ‘Billion Acts of Peace’
By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI (IDN) — Disarmament is at the heart of the collective security system set out in the United Nations Charter, with its goal to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. In commemoration of the United Nation’s 75th anniversaries and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the UN Office […]
Nuclear Modernization Race Continues Despite New START
By J C Suresh TORONTO | WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — While independent arms control experts around the world heaved a sigh of relief at Joe Biden’s signature decision to extend the New START Treaty with Russia through February 4, 2026, Pentagon officials say it is “just the beginning of a larger discussion with Russia and […]
A Beacon of Hope from A Buddhist Leader in the Face of Crises
Viewpoint by Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) — Like the United Nations, the global community-based Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a beacon of hope to a world shrouded by dark clouds of unprecedented crises. An international association of the Soka Gakkai and an NGO in consultative status with UN ECOSOC, SGI has […]
The United States and Russia: Warmongers and Peacemakers
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – Just days after the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) that explicitly and unequivocally prohibits the use of nuclear weapons entered into force on January 22, 2021 – a remarkable victory for humanity – the United States and Russia extended their Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New […]