Security Council Calls for Nuclear Disarmament

Read the Full Transcript

• JIM LEHRER:

  The U.N. Security Council held a rare summit today to work toward eliminating nuclear weapons. There were also new calls to confront Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs.

  Margaret Warner has our lead story report.

• MARGARET WARNER:

  President Obama chaired today's meeting of the 15-member Security Council, a first for an American president. And 14 of the 15 council members were represented by heads of government, a rare occurrence.

  The sole item on the agenda: passage of a resolution affirming the goals of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation and committing to work more aggressively to achieve them.

• U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:

  Now, the draft resolution has been adopted unanimously…

• MARGARET WARNER:

  The president laid out the stakes in stark terms.

• BARACK OBAMA:

  Just one nuclear weapon exploded in a city — be it New York or Moscow, Tokyo or Beijing, London or Paris — could kill hundreds of thousands of people, and it would badly destabilize our security, our economies, and our very way of life.

  Once more, the United Nations has a pivotal role to play in preventing this crisis. The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our shared commitment to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

• MARGARET WARNER:

  In turn, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also warned of the risk of nuclear terror. He pointed to the ongoing negotiations between Russia and the U.S., holders of the world's largest nuclear stockpiles.

  DMITRY MEDVEDEV, president , Russia (through translator): We've repeatedly stated and reiterated our readiness to move forward to reduce the number of delivery vehicles of strategic defensive arms more than threefold. Our proposals have been tabled in the negotiations we've been holding with the U.S.

• MARGARET WARNER:

  Chinese President Hu Jintao reaffirmed China's policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, but he said the countries with the largest arsenals should take the lead.

  The resolution adopted today did not mention Iran and North Korea by name. Even so, those two nations were central to the discussion.

  French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Iran and North Korea have made a mockery of international efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons development.

  NICOLAS SARKOZY, president, France (through translator): At this very moment, Iran, since 2005, has flouted five Security Council resolutions. I support the extended hand of the Americans, President Obama. We must bring these dialogue proposals.

  But what has it brought the international community? Nothing at all. Just more enriched uranium, more centrifugal machines. And then we have North Korea, and here it's even better. North Korea has been acting in defiance of all Security Council decisions since 1993. They pay no attention whatsoever to what the international community has to say.

• MARGARET WARNER:

  Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the time is fast approaching when harsher sanctions should be imposed against Iran.

  In response, Iran issued a statement that said it would take part in "serious and constructive" negotiations, but it said, "Futile and illegal demands of the past years that have proven to be of no avail should be abandoned."

  In an interview in today's Washington Post, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his nation would allow its nuclear experts to meet with U.S. and other officials as a confidence-building measure. The U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany are due to meet Iranian negotiators for talks about Iran's nuclear program on October 1st.

  As for what the future holds, President Obama acknowledged the difficulties of ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

• BARACK OBAMA:

  Words alone will not get the job done.

• MARGARET WARNER:

  He and many of the leaders around the table left for the Group of 20 economic summit in Pittsburgh this afternoon.

• JIM LEHRER:

  Judy Woodruff spoke with Margaret at the U.N. earlier this afternoon.