Britain ready to cut nuclear weapons - Brown
BRITAIN: Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain could reduce
its nuclear arsenal as part of a global disarmament deal to persuade
Iran and North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions, reports said
Friday.
Speaking to reporters at the G8 summit in Italy, Brown said
US-brokered talks next year could pave the way for Britain to reduce its
warhead numbers in return for Tehran and Pyongyang abandoning nuclear
programs.
Brown stressed that Britain had no plans to unilaterally abandon its
160-warhead Trident arsenal or scrap plans to replace the fleet of
submarines that act as its platform, The Times newspaper said.
The prime minister said “collective action” was needed in an attempt
to dissuade both nations from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“Iran is attempting to build a nuclear weapon. North Korea is
attempting to build a nuclear weapon.
“We have got to show we can deal with this by collective action,” he
said.
“Unilateral action by the United Kingdom would not be seen as the
best way.
“What we need is collective action by the nuclear weapons powers to
say that we are prepared to reduce our nuclear weapons, but we need
assurances also that other countries will not proliferate them.”
Brown — who flagged earlier this year that Trident could be on the
table as part of any multilateral arms reduction negotiations — gave no
details of the size of any cut in the British deterrent, the Daily
Telegraph said. LONDON, Friday, AFP |