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New York, September 26, 2009 – US President Barack
Obama is to call for an end to nuclear arms and efforts to stop the
spread of the technology behind them, at an historic UN session.
In the first security council meeting chaired by the US, Mr Obama will
present a resolution seeking "a world without nuclear weapons".
The meeting comes a day after Mr Obama's debut UN speech, in which he
warned of a nuclear arms race.
It also comes amid growing concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The draft resolution reaffirms the council's commitment "to seek a safer
world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear
weapons," the Associated Press reported.
It does not specifically mention countries by name, such as North Korea
and Iran, but reaffirms previous Security Council resolutions relating
to their nuclear plans.
Iran's nuclear programme has been criticised by the US and five nations
who are set to hold talks next week.
Iran says its nuclear ambitions are for peaceful energy purposes, but
others fear it is developing weapons.
Also on Thursday, a UN conference on a 1996 treaty banning nuclear bomb
tests will begin with a speech by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Her appearance is the first US participation at the biannual conference
since 1999 when the US Senate refused to ratify the treaty.
On Wednesday, the first day of the United Nations General Assembly,
Iran's plans came under fire.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Iranian leaders were "making a
tragic mistake" if they thought the international community would not
respond.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Iran - and North Korea - that the
world would be even tougher on proliferation.
In his speech on Wednesday, President Obama said: "For decades, we
averted disaster, even under the shadow of a super-power stand-off. But
today, the threat of proliferation is growing in scope and complexity.
"If we fail to act, we will invite nuclear arms races in every region,
and the prospect of wars and acts of terror on a scale that we can
hardly imagine."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signalled that Moscow might be
prepared to soften its opposition to sanctions against Iran over its
nuclear plans.
But the Chinese foreign ministry has said that increasing pressure on
Iran would not be effective.
In his speech, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke of countries
which undermined the development of other nations under the pretext of
preventing arms proliferation.
Mr Obama said he and Mr Medvedev shared the goal of allowing Iran to
pursue peaceful nuclear energy, but not nuclear weapons.
Source: BBC
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