Alicia Sanders-Zakre, the policy and research coordinator for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), emphasized in an interview with RIA Novosti the urgency for the United States to remove its nuclear weapons from European soil.
She highlighted the perilous nature of nuclear sharing and the heightened risk of conflict escalation it entails.
ICAN had previously reported in October that the U.S. planned to station additional nuclear warheads in the UK, adding to the estimated 150 nuclear bombs already positioned at American airbases across five NATO member states, including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Turkey, despite the lack of formal announcements.
Sanders-Zakre strongly criticized the practice of deploying nuclear weapons on foreign territories, describing it as a hazardous escalation strategy that should be globally denounced and immediately halted.
She advocated for universal adherence to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which strictly forbids such deployments, urging nations to join the treaty to prohibit this dangerous practice within their borders.
The issue of nuclear risk, particularly in the context of the United States and NATO’s strategies in the Ukrainian crisis, was also addressed by Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov.
He warned that these strategies present a significant nuclear threat by potentially leading to a direct military clash between nuclear-armed states.
ICAN, an international non-governmental organization founded in 2007, works towards the ratification and implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The organization’s efforts in advocating for nuclear disarmament were recognized in 2017 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
