Leuthard, who is attending an international summit in Washington, said the current regulations gave the major nuclear powers an unfair advantage over smaller states which use nuclear technology for civilian purposes.
“They are subject to regular controls about the use of tiny amounts of nuclear materials in hospitals for instance,“ she told public radio.
Leuthard also welcomed the summit, sponsored by United States President Barack Obama, as an important symbolic gesture to combat nuclear terrorism.
Participants will sign a joint declaration to guide future work toward locking away and cleansing the globe of materials still too easily accessible to terrorists.
Switzerland is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapons state and regularly hosts international summits on disarmament in Geneva.
It has five nuclear power reactors generating about 40 per cent of the country’s electricity.
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Start II seen as step forward in arms control
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But although editorialists consider the accord an important signal for progress on the nuclear issue, they also point out that there is still much work to be done. The pact is set to reduce the nuclear warheads limit to 1,550 per country over seven years after coming into force. The Basler Zeitung describes Start II,…
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Bruno Pellaud, former deputy director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says despite recent momentum, he is doubtful about further progress on wider nuclear disarmament. World leaders, including Swiss President Doris Leuthard, are meeting in Washington. The two-day gathering follows the publication of the US Nuclear Posture Review and the signing of a new…
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Since the 1960s, Switzerland has built enough underground shelters to protect its entire population with space left over – something no other country has done. But since they have never been needed for their original purpose, they have gradually been put to other uses.
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