The Five permanent members of the Security Council of United Nations gave a joint statement on the prospect of a nuclear war which the Kremlin published on Monday. With the ongoing tension between Russia and United States on Ukraine’s borders, this joint statement has provided a sigh of relief to the people. Even Washington and China also have tensions on The Pentagon report of an increase in nuclear weapons.
Why has war been long ruled out as an option?
About 3 percent of the world’s population perished in the disastrous World War || divided the world between Allies and Axis Power.
The war was also responsible for an era of economic backdrop and extreme poverty in the countries that lost. The war also saw the use of nuclear weapons by the USA against Japan in the war. The bombardment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki saw the horrific destruction of the cities and many deaths.
Moreover, the establishment of many international organizations was set up to avoid any more wars and ensued deaths and extremities.
The United Nations came into existence on October 24, 1945, in San Francisco in the United States. The five permanent of its Security Council members were the five countries that constituted the Allies: China, France, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Russia.
Thus, it became their sole responsibility to maintain peaceful and cordial relations with each other.
The Joint Statement of China, Russia, USA, UK, and France on Nuclear war
The joint statement released by Kremlin on Monday stated that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – consider it their primary responsibility to avoid war between the nuclear states and to reduce strategic risks while aiming to work with all countries to create an atmosphere of security.
The English version of the statement read:
“We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons – for as long as they continue to exist – should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war.” China already had spoken about its no first use” policy on nuclear weapons. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said the joint statement could help increase mutual trust and “replace competition among major powers with coordination and cooperation.”
France also released the statement and it stated that the five powers reiterated their determination for nuclear arms control and disarmament. They would continue bilateral and multilateral approaches to nuclear arms control.