The 2010 Paris Summit aspires to become a catalytic event in the lead-up to President Obama’s April summit on nuclear security and the May Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.
President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have offered support for an international group trying to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Obama, in a written message to the Global Zero conference in Paris, says disarmament is "one of my highest priorities." Medvedev calls it a priority in a message.
Both governments have stalled in talks toward renewing an arms control treaty aimed at reducing their arsenals.
On the opening day of the Global Zero Summit, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim addressed the conference. George Shultz, who delivered the Summit’s keynote address, served as Secretary of State for President Ronald Reagan (1982-1989), and was instrumental in the famous Reykjavik Summit at which Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev broached the possibility of an agreement to eliminate all nuclear weapons. Minister Carl Bildt previously served as Prime Minister of Sweden and as the European Union's Special Envoy to the Former Yugoslavia, among other leadership positions. Minister Celso Amorim has served as Brazil’s Ambassador to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the United Kingdom.
George Shultz, said Russia is increasing its tactical nuclear warhead arsenal and questioned why. "The concept of deterrence is a deteriorating argument, tactical weapons are more vulnerable to theft."
Russian senator Mikhail Margelov countered, "I cannot agree that Russia is increasing its tactical weapons," and insisted that Moscow is committed to reducing stockpiles long-term.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt urged Russia and the United States to "substantially reduce" their tactical warheads in Europe, especially the Russian weapons on the European Union's eastern border.
Participants at the Paris conference clashed over how to to deal with Iran's nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at building weapons and which Iran says is aimed at producing nuclear energy. "They've got oil and gas coming out the ears - why do they need nuclear tecnology?" Shultz asked.
Jordan's Queen Noor, a leading figure in the Global Zero movement and one of the few participants from the Middle East, warned that singling Iran out could backfire. "There is no benefit in selective targeting. Exceptions fuel tensions," she warned. "You have to hold all states accountable." She was referring to Israel's nuclear weapons, which the government has never formally acknowledged but which are seen by many in the Middle East as a threat.
Shultz argued back, "You can't start by tellng Israel to get rid of its weapons" when it is in a region surrounded by people "who question its right to exist." He pushed for firm line against Iran, saying U.N. sanctions for Tehran's defiance of demands to stop uranium enrichment "are not enough." "Somebody caught cheating should know there are consequences," he said. He would not say what other levers the international community could use to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
France government, though hosting the conference, remained cautious about the idea of ridding the world of atomic arms. "France's nuclear deterrent has protected our country very well for many years," said Pierre Sellal, secretary general of the French Foreign Ministry
The second day of the Summit will be opened by the U.S. Under-Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Ellen Tauscher. Under-Secretary Tauscher served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 13 years, where she chaired the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and was a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Other Global Zero Summit participants will include: The Aga Khan, Ambassador K. Shankar Bajpai, Mr. Lawrence Bender, Former Minister and head of the IAEA Hans Blix, Sir Richard Branson, Ambassador Richard Burt, Rev. Richard Cizik, former Minister and Head of the ICNND, Gareth Evans, Prime Minster Yasuo Fukuda, Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Min. Khurshid Kasuri, Ambassador Shaharyar Khan, Dr. Konstantin Kosachev, Mr. Tony Lake, Ambassador Vladimir Lukin, Ambassador Ma Zhengang, Senator Mikhail Margelov, Col. Gen. (Ret.) Evgeny Petrovich Maslin, Gen. (Ret.) Bernard Norlain, Lord David Owen, Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, President Mary Robinson, Prime Minister Michel Rocard, Ambassador Shri Shyam Saran, President Ernesto Zedillo, among others.
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