UN chief: World at max moment of danger, halt nuclear sabre-rattling

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres  has demanded a halt to “nuclear sabre-rattling”, saying the world is at a “maximum moment of danger” and all countries with nuclear weapons must make a commitment to “no first-use”.

The UN chief on Monday told the Security Council that the commitment to dialogue and reason that led to the recent deal restarting grain and fertiliser shipments from Ukraine and Russia must be applied to “the critical situation” at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, where continued shelling and fighting in the area has raised fears of a nuclear catastrophe.

 Saying “humanity’s future is in our hands today”, Guterres urged all countries “to recommit to a world free of nuclear weapons and to spare no effort to come to the negotiating table to ease tensions and end the nuclear arms race, once and for all”.

The secretary-general spoke at a council meeting organised by China, which holds the presidency this month, on “promoting common security through dialogue and cooperation”.

Across the world , Guterres said, collective security is being tested as “never before”, pointing to geopolitical divides, conflicts, military coups, invasions, lengthy wars and differences between the world’s great powers, “including at this council”. He also cited “challenges that were unimaginable to our predecessors -- cyberwarfare, terrorism, and lethal autonomous weapons”. “And the nuclear risk has climbed to its highest point in decades,” Guterres warned.

The council meeting took place during the pandemic delayed conference to review the 50-year-old Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which is considered the cornerstone of international disarmament efforts.

It is taking place against the backdrop of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning after his February 24 invasion of Ukraine that Russia is a “potent” nuclear power and any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen”, and his decision to put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert.