Meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, the site of the first of the only two nuclear weapons deployed in wartime, leaders of the Group of Seven nations reaffirmed a commitment to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
Along with the city of Nagasaki, Hiroshima “offers a reminder of the unprecedented devastation and immense human suffering the people [of those cities] experienced as a result of the atomic bombings of 1945,” the White House said Friday in a joint statement signed by the leaders of the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
“In a solemn and reflective moment, we reaffirm, in this first G7 Leaders’ document with a particular focus on nuclear disarmament, our commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all,” the statement says.
Top of mind for the G7 is Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, during which Russian President Vladimir Putin has alluded to the possible use of lower-yield nuclear weapons. The G7 leaders praised the 77 years since 1945 in which no nuclear weapons have been deployed against an enemy of any country.
Russia’s “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, undermining of arms control regimes, and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are dangerous and unacceptable,” the G7 leaders said. “We recall the statement in Bali of all G20 leaders, including Russia. In this context, we reiterate our position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone any use of nuclear weapons by Russia, in the context of its aggression against Ukraine are inadmissible.”
Russia in February announced that it would no longer comply with certain information-sharing agreements laid out in the New START nuclear treaty. The U.S. unilaterally released aggregate numbers of strategic offensive nuclear weapons on Monday, its obligation under the treaty.
The G7 leaders called for beginning “long overdue” negotiations of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. They also doubled down on the prohibition on nuclear explosive testing, “condemn any threats to do so, and emphasize that bringing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force is another urgent matter.
“We remain committed to upholding the global norm against nuclear explosive testing until it is legally binding and call on all states to declare new or maintain existing moratoriums on nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions,” the G7 leaders said.
