The world’s nuclear powers are forgetting hard-learned lessons from the past, Spain’s leader warned Saturday, calling their race to rebuild atomic arsenals a “historic error” that threatens global stability, according to Anadolu.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivered the stark message at the Munich Security Conference, where world leaders gathered to discuss mounting security threats. His speech came just days after the last remaining US-Russia nuclear treaty collapsed on February 5, leaving the superpowers’ deadliest weapons without any binding limits for the first time in decades.
“The world is becoming more unstable, and we Europeans must strengthen our defense capabilities,” Sanchez acknowledged. But he insisted that piling up more nuclear warheads isn’t the answer to protecting sovereignty or security.
For years after the Cold War ended, nations signed treaties and dramatically shrank their atomic stockpiles. Now that progress is unraveling. “The tide is turning,” Sanchez said grimly. “Nuclear powers have forgotten the lessons of the past, and they are expanding their arsenals once again.”
The numbers tell a troubling story. Nuclear nations collectively spend more than eleven million dollars every single hour maintaining and upgrading their weapons. The United States alone plans to pour $946 billion into its nuclear program over the next ten years, enough money, Sanchez pointed out, to wipe out extreme poverty worldwide.
“In my view, this is a mistake, a historical error that we cannot commit again,” he said, “particularly not today, with artificial intelligence casting a shadow of uncertainty over the entire world.”
Sanchez urged nuclear powers to halt their buildup immediately and negotiate a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to replace the one that just expired. He stressed that stopping Russian President Vladimir Putin and strengthening deterrence remains essential, but warned that nations must pursue these goals “in a coordinated and targeted way that we can control.”
Whether anyone will heed Spain’s call remains uncertain. With trust between major powers at historic lows and conflicts raging from Ukraine to the Middle East, the path back to arms control looks steeper than ever.
