Parties to a U.N. treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons are expected to discuss a deadline for complete nuclear disarmament, starting with a 10-year period, at their first meeting set to be held next January, the conference's president-designate has said.
Alexander Kmentt, director of the department for disarmament issues at the Austrian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview Monday that the deadline to be discussed as part of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons aims to stop nuclear-armed states from expanding their stockpiles, and strengthen pressure from the international community.
The treaty, the first international pact outlawing the development, testing, possession and use of nuclear weapons, came into effect in January this year with the support of many non-nuclear states.