UN Secretary General: One miscalculation can lead to nuclear war

Author:
Sofiia Telishevska
Date:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world was facing a nuclear threat not seen since the height of the Cold War.

This is reported by France24.

"We have been extremely lucky so far. But luck is not a strategy. And it is also not a defense against geopolitical tensions that could turn into a nuclear conflict. Today, humanity is separated from nuclear annihilation by one miscalculation, one misunderstanding," Guterres noted at the beginning of the conference of the countries participating in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

He said the conference was a chance to strengthen the Treaty and make it fit for the "troubled world around us," citing Russiaʼs war in Ukraine, as well as tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East.

"Almost 13 000 units of nuclear weapons are now stored in arsenals around the world. All this at a time when the risks of its spread are growing and the barriers to prevent escalation are weakening. The elimination of nuclear weapons is the only guarantee that they will never be used," added the UN Secretary General.