PRESIDENT BARACK Obama’s pledge of support to rid the world of nuclear weapons has been welcomed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin.
“This augurs well for a new era in global efforts to achieve a nuclear weapons-free world, a central aim of Irish foreign policy for over 50 years,” said Mr Martin.
He was greatly encouraged by the renewed focus placed on nuclear disarmament by the president, in his major speech in Prague and in his joint statements with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
“I am particularly pleased by President Obama’s commitment to the immediate and aggressive pursuit of US ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and the negotiation of a new treaty that verifiably ends the production of fissile materials intended for use in nuclear weapons,” Mr Martin said.
Chairman of the Irish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Dr David Hutchinson Edgar said the US president’s recognition of nuclear weapons as the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War represented an important acknowledgement of their futility today. It also marked a welcome shift in US government attitudes, he added.
