Guterres Commends Russia-US Arms Control Talks As Nagasaki Bombing Marks Anniversary

UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th August, 2021) UN chief Antonio Guterres commended the approach of Russia and the United States to arms control in his message on the 76th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Monday.

During the Geneva summit on June 16, presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden agreed to launch a dialogue on strategic stability that must lay the groundwork for future arms control. In addition, the two leaders reaffirmed commitment to the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.

"Two recent developments are cause for hope. I welcome the reaffirmation by the United States and the Russian Federation that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, and their commitment to engage in arms control dialogue," Guterres said in his message.

The secretary-general also congratulated the parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on its entry into force, mentioning that the agreement "represents the legitimate fears of many States about the existential danger posed by nuclear weapons."

Guterres further called on the parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to take steps toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.

On August 9, 1945, the US dropped the nuclear bomb called "Fat Man" with a blast yield of 21 kilotons on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Over 73,000 people either were killed or went missing just after the explosion, while another 35,000 died later due to radiation exposure and wounds. This was the second and the last atomic bombing of a city in the history of mankind after the first of Hiroshima, which occurred three days before Nagasaki.