16-6-2021 Voor de topontmoeting tussen de presidenten Poetin en Biden op 16 juni hebben meer dan 30 Amerikaanse en Russische organisaties, deskundigen m.b.t. nucleaire beleid en voormalige hoge ambtenaren de presidenten opgeroepen om een dialoog over strategische stabiliteit aan te gaan, stappen te ondernemen om het risico van een nucleaire oorlog te verminderen, en vooruitgang te boeken met ontwapening.

Tekst perbericht:

In advance of the first summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joseph R. Biden in Geneva on June 16, a group of more than 30 American and Russian organizations, international nuclear policy experts, and former senior officials have issued an appeal to the two Presidents calling upon them to launch a regular dialogue on strategic stability, to take meaningful steps to reduce the risk of nuclear war, and make further progress on nuclear arms control and disarmament.

The statement was organized by leaders of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Pugwash Conference on Science and Global Affairs, the recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Peace, and the Arms Control Association.

In the statement, which was delivered to the two governments on June 7, the signatories urge the two presidents to: "Commit to a bilateral strategic dialogue that is regular, frequent, comprehensive and result oriented leading to further reduction of the nuclear risk hanging over the world and to the re-discovery of the road to a world free of nuclear weapons."

Sergey Batsanov of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs emphasized that the summit "could be a launching point for talks on strategic stability in all its aspects. Stability is being eroded by multiple factors- geopolitical, technological, military, doctrinal and others - raising the threat of nuclear war and undermining security of all states. Addressing this issue would also facilitate new nuclear arms control and disarmament negotiations."

Ira Helfand, past president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, said: "It is urgent that President Biden and President Putin reaffirm the ground-breaking statement issued by Gorbachev and Reagan in 1985 that 'a nuclear war can not be won and must never be fought.'"

"U.S. and Russia are still armed with thousands of nuclear weapons. It is by no means certain that the two sides will continue to have enough good luck, responsible leadership, and managerial competence to avoid catastrophe," warned Rachel Bronson, president of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. "We urge the two presidents to seize the opportunity their summit provides to put us back on the road toward a world free of nuclear weapons."

Among the other signatories of the Appeal are: Peter Buijs, M.D., chair of the Netherlands IPPNW, who initiated the Appeal; Igor Ivanov, former Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation; Academician Alexandre Dynkin, Chair, Russian Pugwash Committee; William J. Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Defense; Amb. Sergio Duarte, president of the Pugwash Conferences; General Vyacheslav Trubnikov, IMEMO (Institute of World Economy and International Relations); Joan Rohlfing, president of the Nuclear Threat Initiative; Edmund G. Brown Jr., former Governor of California Executive Chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; and Colonel General Victor Esin, former chief of staff, Russian Strategic Missile Forces.

Volledige tekst van het appeal en lijst met ondertekenaars:

AN APPEAL TO PRESIDENTS BIDEN AND PUTIN ON THE OCCASION OF THEIR SUMMIT MEETING
June 7, 2021

We look forward with great optimism to your meeting in person as the leaders of the most powerful nuclear weapon states. We hope that your summit on June 16 in Geneva will help to rebuild mutual respect and cooperation between the United States and the Russian Federation.

Since the Soviet-U.S. alliance defeated fascism in 1945, courageous Russian and American leaders have several times channeled the courage to work together to put an end to the greatest risk facing humanity: a nuclear apocalypse, intended or unintended, that could end life on our planet.

In their cooperation to create the 1968 Nonproliferation Treaty, your predecessors limited the spread of the most dangerous weapons ever invented and committed to their ultimate elimination. Successive bilateral treaties have reduced their number by more than 85%. And you, President Putin and President Biden, have shown the same determination by extending New START, the most significant remaining bilateral arms control treaty.

We appeal to you to show the same courage and sense of urgency again when you meet in Geneva. Specifically, we urge you to:
• Reaffirm the joint statement of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan: "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."
• Commit to a bilateral strategic dialogue that is regular, frequent, comprehensive and result oriented leading to further reduction of the nuclear risk hanging over the world and to the re-discovery of the road to a world free of nuclear weapons.

Your responsibility extends far beyond your two great nations. The eyes of the world will be upon you, and we look forward to your success.

Sincerely,

Peter Buijs, MD, Chair, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Netherlands
Prof. Paolo Cotta-Ramusino, Secretary General, Pugwash Conferences
Ambassador Sergio Duarte, President, Pugwash Conferences
Ruth Mitchell, MB, Chair, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Andrew Albertson, Executive Director, Foreign Policy for America
Ambassador (ret.) Sergey Batsanov, Member, Pugwash Council
Andrey Baklitskiy, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University
Emma Belcher, President, Ploughshares Fund
Rachel Bronson, PhD, President and CEO, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Edmund G. Brown Jr., former Governor of California, Executive Chair, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Dan Correa, Acting President, Federation of American Scientists
Ramon Cruz, President, Sierra Club
David E. Drake, DO, President, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Academician Alexandre Dynkin, Chair, Russian Pugwash Committee, Russian Academy of Sciences
Colonel General (ret.) Victor Esin, Former Chief of the Main Staff, Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (1994-1996)
Prof. Aleksandr Ginzburg, Vice-Chair, Russian Pugwash Committee, Russian Academy of Sciences Igor Ivanov, President of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Russia
Derek Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Global Zero
Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director, Arms Control Association, and publisher Arms Control Today
Anton Khlopkov, Director, Center for Energy and Security Studies
Academician Sergey Kolesnikov, MD, co-President, All-Russia Social Movement "For Safeguarding People," Russian Academy of Sciences
Dr. Anastasia Malygina, Saint Petersburg State University
Adlan Margoev, Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University
Prof. Steven Miller, Chair of the Executive Committee, Pugwash
Olga Mironova, MD, PhD, co-President, Russian Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
William J. Perry, 19th Secretary of Defense, Founder, William J. Perry Project
Dr. William C. Potter, Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar Professor of Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
Joan Rohlfing, President and Chief Operating Officer, Nuclear Threat Iniative
Natalya Samoylovskaya, Chair, Russian Student Pugwash Group and Member, Russian Pugwash Committee, Russian Academy of Sciences
Elena Sokova, Executive Director, Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Dmitry Stefanovich, Research Fellow, Primakov Instititute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences
John F. Tierney, Executive Director, Council for a Livable World
General of the Army (retired) Vyacheslav Trubnikov, Member, Board of Directors, Primakov National Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), Russian Academy of Sciences
Stephen Young, Acting co-Director, Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists

Bron: NVMP