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Annan warns of new arms race
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UNITED NATIONS Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday he believes there is a need to consolidate and build upon existing disarmament and non-proliferation agreements, specifically to prevent a new arms race and maintain the non-weaponized status of outer space.
A statement made by the spokesman for Annan on Wednesday said the secretary-general has noted the proposals of US President George W Bush for a new defence policy including the establishment of missile defences.
These plans inevitably impact upon global security and strategic stability, said the statement.
It said that Annan appealed to all countries to engage in negotiations towards legally binding disarmament agreements that are both verifiable and irreversible.
In a speech at the National Defence University in Washington on Tuesday, Bush, in trumpeting his missile defence plan, all but declared the Antiballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 to be dead, vowing to replace it with a new “framework”
Arms control advocates believe that the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty, which bans the very systems that Bush alluded to on Tuesday, has served as the cornerstone of nuclear deterrence since it was signed by the United States and former Soviet Union in 1972. (Xinhua)
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