Russia Has Proposed U.S. and Russian Presidents Declare Use of Nuclear Weapons ‘Unacceptable’

June 11, 2019 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reported in his address today to the “Primakov Readings 2019” conference in Moscow that Russian officials have proposed to the United States that their two Presidents jointly declare that the use of nuclear weapons is “unacceptable,” as the leaders of the Soviet Union and the U.S. had done in earlier days, TASS reports.

“From a political perspective, it is of principal importance that Russia and the U.S. calm the rest of the world and pass a joint statement at a high level that there can be no victory in a nuclear war and therefore it is unacceptable and inadmissible,” Lavrov said. It was done before, and “we do not understand why they cannot reconfirm this position now. Our proposal is being considered by the U.S. side.”

But Lavrov said that Russia has not received any response to its proposals on strategic stability issues, TASS reported.

The theme of this fifth Primakov Readings International Forum, is bluntly titled, “Returning to Confrontation: Are There Any Alternatives?” According to the website for the conference, 80 leading experts, diplomats, politicians and journalists from 29 countries and more than 600 representatives of Russian think tanks and universities, public authorities, political and business circles are taking part in the June 10-11 forum.

It was opened and chaired by President Vladimir Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, who heads the Organizing Committee of the Readings.

Putin sent greetings, in which he referenced Yevgeny Primakov (1929-2015), the former Prime Minister, former Foreign Minister, diplomat, and strategic thinker for whom the forum is named:

“Yevgeny Primakov’s unique creative legacy remains highly relevant in modern politics, diplomacy, academic and public life. And this is only logical because such fundamental values as love for humanity, responsibility for the destinies of the world and unfailing adherence to the Motherland’s national interests, as well as respect for legitimate interests of other countries and strict compliance with the norms of international law, form the foundation of the world outlook of this outstanding statesman and thinker.”

Putin urged participants “to jointly search for real and viable alternatives to the intensifying confrontation” which has brought the world to a dangerous stage.

Of the many speakers from the U.S., China, India, South Korea, Iran, France, Tunisia, and others, none were from the United Kingdom—although several nominally from other countries have been known to represent the British Empire admirably from their positions at the Atlantic Council, Kissinger Associates, the European Council on Foreign Affairs, and the like!