(VOVworld) – The US rejected calls Tuesday for a treaty immediately eliminating nuclear weapons and said it prefers a gradual approach.

Efforts towards further measures, including at a new NPT review conference in May 2015, have also been stymied by tensions between Moscow and Washington over the Ukraine crisis. (Photo: AFP)

“We think the most practical and realistic approach is pursuing reductions step by step,” Adam Scheinman, special US representative for nuclear non-proliferation, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on nuclear weapons in Vienna. He said under certain security conditions, the US can reduce its nuclear stockpiles as President Obama promised.
The number of nuclear weapons—90 per cent of them are American or Russian—has been reduced drastically since the end of the Cold War, thanks to treaties like the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), the Moscow Treaty, and the New START. However, among some 16,300 remaining nukes, 4,000 are “operationally available,” and 1,800 are on “high alert.” Since the New START took effect in 2011, Russia and the US have declined to hold further talks to reduce their nuclear stockpiles.