Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg sees New START extension as positive signal, urges further steps.
“I emphatically welcome the agreement on the extension of the New START Treaty. This is an important signal and increases security for all of us,” says Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, pleased with the last-minute agreement.
In addition to the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) last Friday, this gives hope for progress and greater momentum in nuclear disarmament: “Further impetus is now needed from the nuclear-armed states,” demands Foreign Minister Schallenberg.
The world is in a dangerous nuclear arms race, arsenals are being expanded and modernised. But we need exactly the opposite: more control and disarmament.
Foreign Minister Schallenberg sees the extension as an important step, but even more courageous ones would have to follow: “The five-year extension gives breathing space, but this must now be used to make the treaty broader. A standstill is life-threatening given the increasing risks of nuclear weapons and their humanitarian impact.”
For Austria, nuclear disarmament remains a foreign policy priority. For example, the first conference of the signatories of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will take place in Vienna and we will continue to be available – as we have been recently – to host the strategic discussions between the United States and Russia,
concluded Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
