Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said his country is considering China’s proposal for nuclear-armed nations to refrain from initiating nuclear attacks.
“We are paying attention to this proposal. We are studying it,” Ryabkov told the Russian news agency TASS on Thursday (14/3/2024).
Ryabkov said the idea makes sense at a time when “the Western collective has been setting the course for continuously escalating the international situation without considering the risks that could arise from the direct impact of armed clashes among nuclear powers.”
He then stated that Moscow requires clarity from the United States (US) on whether they are willing to seriously consider the proposal.
Russian media RBC, citing the country’s foreign ministry, stated that Beijing’s proposal should be considered based on the military and political realities amid the “deteriorating situation in the world,” including relations among the “five nuclear” – which in terms of their stockpile, consist of Russia, the US, China, France, and the UK.
Previously, China has called for negotiations on a first non-attack agreement among the largest nuclear-armed states.
Under such an agreement, a state would not use its nuclear weapons unless it were subjected to a nuclear attack or an imminent one.
China is the only one among the nine nuclear-armed states currently possessing a no-first-use policy, adopted by Beijing after its first nuclear test in 1964.
“Nuclear-armed states should continue to fulfill their special and primary responsibilities and substantially and significantly reduce their nuclear arsenals,” said Sun Xiaobo, Director-General of the Department of Arms Control of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a UN disarmament conference in February.
Sun also proposed a roadmap or timeline to incorporate negative security assurances – or assurances by nuclear-armed states not to use weapons against non-nuclear states – into the international legal framework.
China Warns Putin Against Playing with Nuclear Weapons
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin warned Russia not to be reckless in using nuclear weapons. Wang conveyed this message on Wednesday (13/3/2024). Wang also reminded that in January 2022, five nuclear-armed states including Russia had agreed not to engage in nuclear war and always maintain global security. !!!!!!!!
On the same day, Putin revealed that he and the Russian military are ready to use nuclear weapons whenever necessary. Putin even claimed that Russia’s nuclear arsenal is more modern than that of any other country. According to Putin, only Russia and the United States possess similar modern nuclear weapons.
