22.11.2019
Only a world without nuclear weapons can be a “safe world,” the German foreign minister said on a trip to Hiroshima. But that requires international consensus, and Germany won’t be taking the first step.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited Hiroshima on Friday to commemorate victims of the 1945 nuclear attack and promote a nuclear-weapon-free world.
“One day living in a nuclear-weapon-free world has to remain our goal,” he said. “Even though that will not be easy and may take a long time.”
However, the foreign minister said he was against a unilateral German withdrawal of nuclear weapons.
“It’s no use if nuclear weapons are just moved from one country to another. If they are to disappear then they should disappear everywhere,” he said. “As far as nuclear disarmament is concerned, we need agreements on a broad basis, not only in individual countries.”
Germany currently stores around 20 US nuclear warheads. The armed forces have Tornado jets on standby to deploy them if necessary.
In the memorial book of the Peace Museum of Hiroshima, Maas wrote: “The memory of suffering by the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never fade. We have a shared responsibility to ensure that such suffering is never repeated. For a peaceful world without nuclear weapons!”
Nuclear disarmament efforts will be discussed at the upcoming G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Nagoya, which Maas will attend.
The agenda also includes talks on free trade, the United Nations’ goals for sustainable development, and policies on Africa.
mvb/rt (AFP, dpa)
No comments:
Post a Comment