Stoltenberg Aims at Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear bomb ICAN Nobel Peace Prize youth politiciansNuclear bomb. Photo: Pixabay.com

Jens Stoltenberg, former Norwegian Prime Minister and current acting Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) brought his concerns over nuclear weapons agreements to the fore at the Munich Security Conference being held through tomorrow, 18 Feb.

 

Speaking with Norwegian press, Stoltenberg stated his concerns over how little discussion takes place (on the world stage) concerning nuclear weapons.

‘Nuclear weapons are a critical topic. Therefore, we must discuss (nuclear weapons) even though it’s a complicated issue.

Stoltenberg maintains that nuclear policies are facing in the wrong direction. He points to new states having nuclear weapons, including North Korea. He highlights Russia’s modernized nuclear weapons program and the US contention that Russia is in violation of INF agreements that prohibits deployment of land-based nuclear missiles (seen within the Middle East) within Europe.

At Conference, Stoltenberg reminded that the fight against nuclear weapons helped shape a whole generation of nuclear security policy thinking during the 1970s and 80s.

‘It’s all very serious. Ignoring these problems won’t make them disappear.These issues call for open discussions.’ states Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg believes that one of his functions as Secretary General in NATO is to bring attention to the threats he sees and to mobilize support for existing agreements that help keep the development of nuclear arms under strict control.

Stoltenberg served as Prime Minister of Norway from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2005 to 2013.

The Munich Security Conference brings more than 450 senior decision-makers, heads-of-state, ministers, and high ranking representatives of industry, media and academia to forum debate over current and future security challenges.

The Munich Security Conference runs 16 – 18, February, 2018

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today