Anti-nuke group: Don't stay silent to US, Russia threat

By Bayram Altug

GENEVA

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on Saturday slammed European leaders for their silence over the nuclear threat posed by the U.S. and Russia.

"We know what world war does to our continent. If there is a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia, it is going to be here in Europe," Beatrice Fihn, ICAN executive director, told Anadolu Agency in Geneva, Switzerland.

"European leaders can’t stay silent right now. They are very silent on this issue. They have to stand up against Trump, Putin and Kim and say: This is unacceptable," said Fihn, whose group won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, referring to the U.S., Russian, and North Korean leaders.

‘Israel should not have nukes’

Fihn also urged Israel to abolish its nuclear weapons for the sake of peace and security in the region.

"Israeli nuclear weapons should be disarmed," Fihn said.

Noting the concerns over the Israeli nuclear threat as a risk to peace and security including Middle East, Fihn said: "The impact of using nuclear weapons would be devastating" and this possibility "is extremely concerning".

Saying that the global situation in the world now is more worrying than the Cold War era, Fihn said: "We are definitely heading towards very worrying times with threats. We have a situation in the Koreas between the U.S. and Russia and in the Middle East and Pakistan. It is very complex. It's not like the Cold War where we had two blocs."

"Having nuclear weapons in this very multipolar tense system is much more dangerous than it was during the Cold War," she said.

US urged to stay in Iran deal

About U.S. President Donald Trump’s statements that he would pull out from the nuclear deal with Tehran, she called them “very concerning. We would urge the U.S. to stay in the Iran deal very strongly."

"It would be a threat to peace and security in the region and internationally if that deal falls apart. It is very successful deal. Iran is complying with it. It is working. It needs to stay," she added.

ICAN is a global civil society coalition of non-governmental organizations from over 100 countries working for the prohibition of nuclear weapons.

The group -- with over 460 partner organizations -- has been a driving force on countries' promises to eliminate nuclear weapons in line with UN accords.