BY IANS,
Vienna : President Barack Obama said Sunday the US will pursue Senate ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to bring it into force, IRNA reported.
The international treaty has been ratified by 148 countries, and it will enter into force once it is ratified by the other signatory states, including the US.
“As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the US has a moral responsibility to act,” Obama told a crowd of about 20,000 in Prague’s Hradcany Square.
“We cannot succeed in this endeavour alone, but we can lead it.”
Obama said he would push for US Senate ratification of the 13-year-old Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which is yet to come into force.
CTBT seeks to ban the production of nuclear weapons.
Although the Cold War has ended, “the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up”, Obama said.
“More nations have acquired these weapons. Testing has continued. Black markets trade in nuclear secrets (technology) and materials.”