Nations’ nuclear disarmament too slow

THE failure of major nuclear powers to speedily reduce their arsenals of 27,000 warheads is creating an environment of cynicism among the non-nuclear weapons states, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog has warned.

Mohammed El Baradei, who last month won the Nobel Peace Prize along with the International Atomic Energy Agency he heads, said there has been little progress toward a post-Cold War world that was no longer dependent on nuclear weapons.

In remarks prepared for a non-proliferation conference, he said: “Confidence in disarmament commitments would be measurably enhanced if nuclear weapons states were to take action toward reducing the strategic role currently given to nuclear weapons.”