Kazakh President Offers Astana as Venue for Disarmament Negotiations with North Korea

By Santo D. Banerjee

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – In the run up to the fiftieth anniversary of the UN inviting nuclear haves and have-nots to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on July 1, 1968, Kazakhstan has proposed a set of six measures aimed at the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and offered a platform for disarmament negotiations with North Korea.

The initiative has been launched on January 18 at the high level briefing of the Security Council which focused on the theme of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: confidence-building measures convened by Kazakhstan in its capacity as the Council President for the month of January. And this at a point in time when, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres says, “global anxieties about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War.” [P 31] ARABIC | TURKISH | URDU | JAPANESE TEXT VERSON PDF 

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Kazakh President Offers Astana as Venue for Disarmament Negotiations with North Korea

By Santo D. Banerjee

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – In the run up to the fiftieth anniversary of the UN inviting nuclear haves and have-nots to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on July 1, 1968, Kazakhstan has proposed a set of six measures aimed at the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and offered a platform for disarmament negotiations with North Korea.

The initiative has been launched on January 18 at the high level briefing of the Security Council which focused on the theme of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: confidence-building measures convened by Kazakhstan in its capacity as the Council President for the month of January. And this at a point in time when, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres says, “global anxieties about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War.” [P 31] ARABIC | TURKISH | URDU  | JAPANESE TEXT VERSON PDF 

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FNs leder forventer at nye sanksjoner vil bidra til å gjøre 2018 til “et avgjørende år” for Koreahalvøya

Av J Nastranis

DE FORENTE NASJONER (IDN) – FNs generalsekretær António Guterres ønsker å gjøre 2018 til “et avgjørende år” for oppnåelse av varig fred på Koreahalvøya.

I en uttalelse som kan tilskrives hans talsperson, etter at en ny Sikkerhetsråds-resolusjon (UNSCR 2397) ble vedtatt, sa han: “Den eneste veien videre, for å oppnå en helhetlig fredelig og politisk løsning, er de-eskalering og åpne kommunikasjonskanaler, umiddelbart.”

FNs leder forventer at nye sanksjoner vil bidra til å gjøre 2018 til “et avgjørende år” for KoreahalvøyaRead More »

Iran Nuclear Deal Is Menaced by Trump’s Cynical Gambit

By Kelsey Davenport

The writer is director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, where it first appeared on 17 January.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – President Donald Trump’s Jan. 12 decision to waive sanctions on Iran keeps the United States in compliance – for the time being – with its obligations under the multilateral nuclear deal with Tehran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Trump’s ultimatum that Congress pass legislation to unilaterally address what he describes as “flaws” in the agreement is based on flawed assumptions. His demands are unrealistic and put the future of the accord in doubt.

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Israeli Disarmament Movement Steers Through Nuclear Ambiguity

核の「曖昧政策」のなかで活動する「イスラエル軍縮運動」

【アンマンIDN＝バーナード・シェル】

イスラエルのメディアは、２０１７年１２月１０日にオスロで行われた、核兵器廃絶国際キャンペーン（ICAN）に対するノーベル平和賞の授与式を黙殺した。もっとも、イスラエルの駐ノルウェー大使は式典に出席した。

ICANの中東における主要なパートナー団体である「イスラエル軍縮運動」（IDM。シャロン・ドレブ氏が創設し、現在議長を務める）がこの６年間イスラエルの世論に影響を与えてきたものの、イスラエル・メディアによる黙殺は驚くべきものではないとみられている。

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NATO Demands Cause Headaches in Iceland

By Lowana Veal

REYKJAVIK (IDN) – In February 2016, the U.S. government started discussions with its Icelandic counterpart on the possibility of carrying out necessary changes to the doors of the NATO hangar at Keflavik airport so that newer, larger submarine reconnaissance planes could be housed there. The matter was eventually concluded in December 2017, when the U.S. government agreed to funding.

The hangar is located in the security zone of the old U.S. military base, “Naval Air Station Keflavik”, and the reconnaissance planes in question are of the Poseidon P-8A type, designed to track the increased presence of Russian nuclear and conventional submarines in waters around Iceland – the so-called Greenland, Iceland and United Kingdom (GIUK) Gap. [P 30] JAPANESE TEXT VERSON PDF | NORWEGIAN | PORTUGUESE

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NATO Demands Cause Headaches in Iceland

By Lowana Veal

REYKJAVIK (IDN) – In February 2016, the U.S. government started discussions with its Icelandic counterpart on the possibility of carrying out necessary changes to the doors of the NATO hangar at Keflavik airport so that newer, larger submarine reconnaissance planes could be housed there. The matter was eventually concluded in December 2017, when the U.S. government agreed to funding.

The hangar is located in the security zone of the old U.S. military base, “Naval Air Station Keflavik”, and the reconnaissance planes in question are of the Poseidon P-8A type, designed to track the increased presence of Russian nuclear and conventional submarines in waters around Iceland – the so-called Greenland, Iceland and United Kingdom (GIUK) Gap. [P 30] JAPANESE TEXT VERSON PDF | NORWEGIAN | PORTUGUESE

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U.S. Decision to Respect Iran Deal Obligations Averts Self-Made Crisis But Uncertainty Persists

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – One day after the European Union reiterated its commitment to support “the full and effective implementation of the agreement” with Iran, the Trump Administration announced on January 12 that it will continue to waive sanctions on the Islamic Republic in accordance with U.S. commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.

The agreement between the P5+1 countries (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and Iran is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

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UN Chief Expects New Sanctions To Help Make 2018 ‘A Pivotal Year’ for the Korean Peninsula

国連事務総長、新決議を通じて２０１８年が朝鮮半島にとり「転換点となる年」となることを期待

【国連IDN＝J・ナストラニス】

国連のアントニオ・グテーレス事務総長は、２０１８年を、朝鮮半島における持続可能な平和実現に向けて「転換点となる年」にしたいと望んでいる。

グテーレス事務総長は、北朝鮮に対する追加の制裁決議（安保理決議２３９７号）の採択を受けて、報道官名で出した声明のなかで、「包括的で平和的な政治解決へと前に進む唯一の道は、直ちに緊張緩和に取り組むとともに意思疎通のチャンネル作りをすることだ。」と語った。

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UN Chief Expects New Sanctions To Help Make 2018 ‘A Pivotal Year’ for the Korean Peninsula – Swedish

FN-chefen förväntar sig nya sanktioner för att göra 2018 till “ett väsentligt år” för den koreanska halvön.

Av J Nastranis

FÖRENTA NATIONERNA (IDN) – FN:s generalsekreterare António Guterres vill göra 2018 till “ett väsentligt år” för att uppnå en hållbar fred på den koreanska halvön.

I ett uttalande tillskrivet hans talesman, efter att ha antagit en ny säkerhetsråds-resolution (FN:s säkerhetsråds resolution 2397), sa han: “Den enda vägen framåt för en omfattande fredlig och politisk lösning kräver nu nedtrappning och öppna kommunikationskanaler”.

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