Nuclear deterrence “will obviously be an important component of the new Strategic Concept,” according to Assembly Vice-President Sven Mikser (Estonia) just before the opening of the Assembly’s spring session in Riga. 

The Assembly took note of US President Barack Obama’s 2009 call for a nuclear-free world, Mikser said.  There was also “lively debate” among European NATO members regarding the ongoing presence of US nuclear weapons on European soil.

“But in our Assembly, it is quite clear and seems to be a widely shared opinion that nuclear deterrence will remain an important part of the overall NATO deterrent for the time being,” he said. There needs to be “an adequate balance between nuclear and non-nuclear deterrent capabilities”.

The Assembly, which submits reports and recommendations to the Alliance in Brussels, has already submitted its ideas on the new Strategic Concept to NATO’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen on 13 April of this year.  On nuclear weapons, this states that deterrence “both conventional and nuclear” will continue to play a central role in Alliance strategy, and that members states should “hold to the minimum necessary to support NATO’s strategy of preserving peace and preventing war”.

“We are very much in favour of nuclear disarmament, but we won’t be talking about global zero within the lifetime of the new Strategic Concept I am sure,” he said, referring to the proposals for decommissioning all nuclear arsenals around the world.

Around 340 delegates from allied and associated countries are expected to attend the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s spring session from May 28 to June 1. The full programme is available at http://www.nato-pa.int/default.asp?SHORTCUT=2014

The new Strategic Concept is expected to be completed by the NATO Secretary General by the Alliance ’s next Summit towards the end of the year.


NATO Parliamentary Assembly Press Service
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