Andrey Kortunov: P5 Statement Was Important, but Now Its Members Should Meet To Discuss Broader Issues

Andrey Kortunov, director of the Russia International Affairs Council, remarked that the Jan. 2 joint statement issued by the five nuclear powers, affirming that a nuclear war can never be won and should never be fought, was an important one, that echoed the sentiment expressed by the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan and the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev when they met in Reykjavik in 1986. He added, however, as reported by TASS, that aside from the statement itself, “it should be remembered that the problem of international security is not confined to the risk [that] nuclear weapons might be used. Likewise it is essential to avoid getting back into the pre-nuclear era, which was by no means an optimal one from the standpoint of security.” Kortunov emphasized that aside from removing the nuclear factor from politics, there are other changes that should take place “in favor of greater strategic stability.”