Britain has increased its stockpile of nuclear warheads by more than 40%.
INTERVIEW.. Swedish Foreign Minister: Increasing and modernizing nuclear weapons stockpile is a worrying global trend
Anne Lind: Nuclear disarmament is a central priority in Swedish foreign policy.
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Efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons are still continuing despite the successive obstacles and crises that the world is going through.
Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Lind discussed the achievements of the Stockholm Initiative to revive efforts to disarm these deadly weapons.
Here are excerpts from an interview with her by Arms Control Today:
■ How the Stockholm Initiative can accelerate progress in nuclear disarmament. What can be achieved in the short and long term?
■■ Stockholm Initiative and Action Plan adopted in Berlin last year, proposals for concrete measures for nuclear disarmament;
They are sincere proposals, and we believe that they can be taken now - in the current security situation - to implement previous commitments.
In parallel, these measures will contribute to building confidence and paving the way for further progress and additional steps.
Nuclear risk reduction is a key area of the Stockholm Initiative, but our proposals also cover policy, transparency and disarmament verification.
■ The provisions of the initiative call on the nuclear states to open and deepen discussions on issues such as nuclear doctrine and strategic stability. How will the Stockholm Initiative encourage discussion and action by these countries?
■■ Reducing the role of nuclear weapons in politics is critical;
The opposite trend that we have seen in recent years is very worrying and must be reversed.
That is why the issue is so prominent, in line with the commitments made at the 2010 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
■ Have you discussed the initiative with the administration of President Joe Biden, and if so, what was its response? Will the United States be an active participant?
■■ Nuclear disarmament is a central priority in Swedish foreign policy.
I took the opportunity to raise the Stockholm initiative with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in our first conversations days after he took office.
We had a brief discussion at that time.
Since then, I, with my Canadian and German colleagues, and on behalf of the members of the Stockholm Initiative, have sent a message encouraging the new administration to seriously consider proposals that provide a starting point for advancing nuclear disarmament efforts.
These proposals are intended to provide a realistic set of measures, which we hope will be considered by all parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, not just the nuclear-weapon states.
■ In March, the UK announced that it would raise the ceiling on its total stockpile of nuclear warheads by more than 40%, to 260 warheads. Do you think this action is in line with the UK's political and legal obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons?
■■ It is unfortunate that the UK intends to maximize its nuclear arsenal, and no longer provides figures on operational stocks, warheads and missiles in service.
I think this is a step in the wrong direction, at a time when our focus should be on making progress on disarmament.
This is a deeply troubling trend, with China increasing its arsenal, and with major modernization efforts underway elsewhere, not least in Russia.
We must do everything in our power to avoid a costly and dangerous arms race.
• Reducing the role of nuclear weapons in politics is critical; The opposite trend that we have seen in recent years is very worrying, and it must be reversed.
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