ElBaradei urges US, Russia to lead global nuclear disarmament

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei on Tuesday urged the US and Russia to reduce their nuclear arsenals and lead the way toward a world free of atomic weapons. "Their continued reliance on nuclear weapons as the cornerstone of their security sends the wrong message," ElBaradei said at a conference in Oslo. The International Atomic Energy Agency chief said nuclear disarmament talks should resume and urged the former Cold War foes to take their nuclear weapons off high alert. "The risk of accident or miscalculation would be dramatically lowered if weapons were taken off the Cold War hair-trigger alert," he said.