Nuclear Powers Responsible for Preserving World Peace

Beijing, Jan 31 (Prensa Latina) The meeting between the five nuclear powers concluded in Beijing Thursday with the commitment of those states to share responsibility for preserving peace and security on the planet, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported Thursday.

Geng Shuang, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, said at a press conference that the meeting - called P5 - was a success and produced a consensus that China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and the United States will support the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in force.

They also pledged to cooperate with each other, maintain strategic consultations, closely coordinate the pact's review and foster open dialogue with sectors of the international community such as academia and the press, he said.

Geng considered the common work of these states to be essential in the face of security challenges in the current world.

He emphasized the importance of looking objectively at each other's strategic intentions, strengthening mutual trust and exchanges on the subject.

China, in its capacity as rotating coordinator of the P5, will continue to work on promoting consensus, managing differences among the five countries and replacing rivalry with cooperation, the spokesman added.

The meeting was held Wednesday and Thursday in Beijing and focused on unifying positions on disarmament, the peaceful use of atomic energy and the validity of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Aside from the meeting, Russia and the United States discussed their dispute over the Treaty on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) and, according to international press reports, the talks were unsuccessful.

Washington threatened to begin withdrawing from that arrangement next Saturday unless Moscow agrees to destroy the Novator 9M729 missile, which the White House believes violates the agreement.

Russia claims full compliance with the 1987 treaty between the former Soviet Union and the United States.

That agreement addresses the elimination of short and intermediate-range missiles, and is considered a transcendental document reached during the Cold War for the resolution of international friction, the control of the nuclear process and the protection of the planet's security in the past as well as in the present.