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STORY: UN / RUSSIA BELARUS NUCLEAR WEAPONS
TRT: 04:10
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / RUSSIAN / BELARUSIAN / NATS
DATELINE: 31 MARCH 2023, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN Headquarters
31 MARCH 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Various shots, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs:
“The risk of a nuclear weapon being used is currently higher than at any time since the depth of the cold war. The war in Ukraine represents the most acute example of that risk. The absence of dialogue and the erosion of disarmament and arms control architecture, combined with dangerous rhetoric and veiled threats are key drivers of this potentially existential risk.”
4. Med shot, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs:
“All states must avoid taking any actions that could lead to escalation, mistake or miscalculation. All states parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - or the NPT - nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states alike must strictly adhere to the commitments and obligations they have assumed under the Treaty.”
6. Wide shot, Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert A. Wood, Deputy Permanent Representative, Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs, United States:
“It is unfortunate that this meeting was necessary today, but President Putin is escalating Russia's dangerous and destabilizing behavior by now threatening to deploy nuclear weapons and Belarus. He has once again reminded the world of his disregard for international law, including the UN Charter. Russia's suggestion that this intended deployment is somehow justified because of the use of armor piercing ammunition is ludicrous. To state the obvious, armor piercing ammunition is in no way analogous to tactical nuclear weapons.”
8. Med shot, Nebenzya at the Council dais
9. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russian Federation:
“Russia in the 90s undertook all possible efforts to withdraw nuclear weapons from the countries of the former USSR and to bring them on to our territory. Time and again we called upon the Americans to follow suit, namely, to set aside the cold war mentality and to return all nuclear weapons of the US to the US' national territory.”
10. Wide shot, Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Sergiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ukraine:
“The nuclear blackmail is one of the tools that Russia has exploited since the very beginning of the invasion. In addition, the shelling and seizure of Ukrainian nuclear facilities have also aggravated the nuclear threats at the global level. Today is the 401st day or the full-fledged war, and Russia demonstrates its failure to prevail on the battlefield. In a desperate attempt to avoid the unavoidable, its military defeat in Ukraine, Russia again resorts to waving its nuclear bludgeon.”
12. SOUNDBITE (Belarusian) Valentin Rybakov, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Belarus:
“it is our position that the Security Council and the whole of the international community need to finally pay very meticulous attention to what is generally posing a threat, that is the nuclear sharing missions of NATO and the deploying by the US of nuclear weapons outside its national borders. We call upon Ukraine not to stop halfway and to be bold and courageous and asking NATO to stop the practice of nuclear sharing missions. And we call upon the US to take its weapons out of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey, which to use the phrase used by Ukraine and some statements here, these areas should be viewed as occupied countries.”
13. Zoom out Council
The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, today (31 Mar) told the Security Council that “the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is currently higher than at any time since the depth of the cold war,” and the war in Ukraine “represents the most acute example of that risk.”
Nakamitsu said “the absence of dialogue and the erosion of disarmament and arms control architecture, combined with dangerous rhetoric and veiled threats are key drivers of this potentially existential risk.”
Ukraine called for today’s Council meeting over reports that Russia may be stationing tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.
Nakamitsu said, “all states must avoid taking any actions that could lead to escalation, mistake or miscalculation. All states parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - or the NPT - nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states alike must strictly adhere to the commitments and obligations they have assumed under the Treaty.”
United States Ambassador Robert A. Wood, told the Council that Russian President Vladimir Putin wase “escalating Russia's dangerous and destabilizing behavior by now threatening to deploy nuclear weapons and Belarus.”
Wood said, “Russia's suggestion that this intended deployment is somehow justified because of the use of armor piercing ammunition is ludicrous,” and added that armor piercing ammunition, which contains depleted uranium, “is in no way analogous to tactical nuclear weapons.”
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya told the Council that “Russia in the 90s undertook all possible efforts to withdraw nuclear weapons from the countries of the former USSR and to bring them on to our territory,” and added that “time and again we called upon the Americans to follow suit, namely, to set aside the cold war mentality and to return all nuclear weapons of the US to the US' national territory.”
Ukraine’s Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said, “the nuclear blackmail is one of the tools that Russia has exploited since the very beginning of the invasion.”
Kyslytsya said, “Russia demonstrates its failure to prevail on the battlefield,” and “in a desperate attempt to avoid the unavoidable, its military defeat in Ukraine, Russia again resorts to waving its nuclear bludgeon.”
Belarus’ Ambassador Valentin Rybakov told the Council that “the Security Council and the whole of the international community need to finally pay very meticulous attention to what is generally posing a threat, that is the nuclear sharing missions of NATO and the deploying by the US of nuclear weapons outside its national borders.”
He called upon the United States “to take its weapons out of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey, which to use the phrase used by Ukraine and some statements here, these areas should be viewed as occupied countries.”
