The UN Secretary General called on the nuclear powers to renounce the use of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear powers must renounce the use of nuclear weapons first, and in fact, as a result, the use of this type of weapons in general, said UN Secretary General António Guterres during a speech in the General Assembly about his priorities for 2023.

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The time has come to re-prioritize disarmament and arms control, he said, reducing the strategic threats from nuclear weapons and working towards their eventual elimination.

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“Nuclear-weapon countries should refrain from being the first to use these terrible weapons,” Guterres said, adding that “in essence, they should refrain from any use, anytime, anywhere.”

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According to him, the “tactical” use of nuclear weapons is absurd.

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“We are at the greatest risk in decades of a nuclear war, either accidentally or deliberately. We need to put an end to the threat posed by the 13,000 nuclear weapons stored in arsenals around the world,” he concluded.