DAR AL HARB - U.K.: BECKETT REALLY MEANS AMERICA & ISRAEL, BECAUSE THOSE ARE REALLY THE TWO MOST DANGEROUS PLAYERS IN THE WORLD

Beckett says nuclear states must cut stockpiles
By JoAnne Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, Russia and other nuclear states must resume efforts to cut their stockpiles or risk undermining support for curbing Iran and North Korea's atomic ambitions, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said on Monday.

"Our efforts on non-proliferation will be dangerously undermined if others believe... that the nuclear weapon states have abandoned any commitment to disarmament," Beckett said in remarks at a Carnegie Endowment conference on non-proliferation.

The expiration of U.S.-Russia arms control deals, the continued existence of large arsenals and stalemates on weapons treaties highlight the absence of a plan for moving forward, Beckett said.
"What we need is both vision, a scenario for a world free of nuclear weapons, and action, progressive steps to reduce warhead numbers and to limit the role of nuclear weapons in security policy," she said, adding that there were still over 20,000 warheads in the world, most held by the United States and Russia.

If disarmament efforts remain stagnant, Iran and North Korea could turn the blame for their nuclear defiance back onto states committed to curbing proliferation, Beckett said.

Beckett said that the debate over disarmament had become more immediate and more urgent with Iran and North Korea both standing in open defiance of the international community.
"Stopping and reversing nuclear proliferation in North Korea and Iran has to remain a key priority," Beckett said.

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