Washington’s allies are putting pressure on US President Joe Biden to be the first to switch to a non-use of nuclear weapons, the British newspaper Financial Times writes.
According to the newspaper, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, France and Japan, in particular, are opposed to abandoning the preemptive strike principle. The leaderships of the countries argue that the United States can use nuclear weapons only in exceptional cases, for example, when there is a direct threat to their security. According to US allies, the transition to a policy of non-use of nuclear weapons could be “a huge gift to China and Russia.”
Washington is currently considering changing its nuclear policy, which has not changed since the Cold War. Allies of the United States in Europe and Asia were under the so-called “nuclear umbrella”: the ability of the United States to use a preemptive nuclear strike. The discussion of this issue is planned to be completed by the end of this year.
The US administration sent a questionnaire to the allies in order to subsequently take into account their wishes when revising the nuclear program. Most of them reportedly opposed any change. It is noteworthy that Washington’s allies previously opposed the withdrawal of the American contingent from Afghanistan and the signing of an agreement with Australia, but Washington did not take their interests into account.