Government and Military

Auswartiges Amt Postfach 1148 53001 Bonn

15 July 1998

ref.: Nuclear Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

subj.: Your letter to Dr Klaus Kinkel of July 1st, 1998 Dear Ms Zelter: Thank you for your letter to Dr Kinkel concerning practical steps in nuclear disarmament. The German Government has - together with its European partners - since long been promoting a continous reduction in nuclear forces worldwide. It has therefore welcomed the committment by the five nuclear weapons states laid down in the declaration "Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament" at the occasion of the indefinite extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1995, namely to undertake "systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally, with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons". The German Government holds the view, however, that existing international instruments and fora should be used to pursue this objective. Most important in this regard is the still lacking ratification of the START II Treaty by the Russian Duma. With this treaty in force, talks about further reductions in the strategic arsenals and additional transparency and confidence-building measures could begin. Furthermore, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) should enter into force as soon as possible. This requires the ratification of 44 countries expicitly mentioned in the treaty, including India and Pakistan. The European Union as well as the G 8 have urgently called on these two countries to accede to the CTBT. The German Government also urges countries not yet members to the Non-Proliferation Treaty to join this treaty as non-nuclear weapons states. Lastly, the German Government attaces great importance to the talks on a future treaty to stop production of fissile material for weapons purposes (Cut-off). The German Government is convinced that committing to this agenda will serve the long-term objective of a nuclear weapons-free world in the best possible way. Sincerely Yours,

P. Hofman

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