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Nuclear disarmament timetable "difficult to define", says UK

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Feb 23, IRNA
UK-NPT
The timetable under which the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are obliged to end the nuclear arms race and disarm under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is difficult to define, according to Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells.

"It is not possible to define precisely the timescale implied by the phrase 'at an early date'," under Article IV of the treaty, Howells said.

But with regard to the cessation of the nuclear arms race since the end of the Cold War, "the world's major nuclear arsenals have been significantly reduced," he insisted.

In a written reply to parliament, published Friday, the official for Middle East Affairs said that the UK "maintains only a minimum nuclear deterrent."

Howells was asked how the Foreign Office interprets the phrase "at an early date" under Britain's NPT obligations following the government's controversial decision in December to replace the country's Trident nuclear missiles system.

But he insisted that following implementation of the December decision, "we will have reduced our nuclear arsenal to 160 operationally available warheads: a reduction of 75 per cent." He made no mention that the replacements, costing up to Dlrs 80 billion, will invariably include new and advanced technologies with enhanced warhead destructive capabilities.

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