Arms control critical as Europe faces worst crisis since Cold War, Turkiye says at UN

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - Cooperation in arms control and disarmament has become even more crucial as Europe faces its worst crisis since the Cold War, Turkiye's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Speaking on the second day of the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament (CD) meeting, which has 65 member states, Sedat Onal reiterated Turkiye's support for Ukraine's "sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political unity."

"We are now facing the worst security crisis in Europe after the Cold War," Onal said.

"Agreements and commitments that once contributed to our collective security are being challenged."

In such testing times, the Turkish official said, cooperation in arms control and disarmament has "become all the more crucial."

He also said that the re-emergence of the use of chemical weapons is a cause for grave concern.

"The Syrian regime has repeatedly used chemical weapons, as confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons," he added.

Onal said that as the only multilateral negotiation framework in its field, the Conference on Disarmament remains relevant, but for it to be effective, its negotiating mandate needs to be restored.

"Once this is realized, the CD could start negotiations on a non-discriminatory and verifiable treaty to ban the production of fissile material, which continues to be one of our priorities," he added.

Turkiye sees the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the cornerstone of the disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

It takes part in the Non-proliferation and Disarmament Initiative, which has produced a set of recommendations for "the Review Conference."

"While calling on all relevant parties to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, we welcome the extension of the New START (Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty," Onal said.

Turkiye also supports all efforts to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) regarding the five permanent members of the Security Council, the EU, and Iran on nuclear arms control.

It also supports the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction to remain a priority.