Peers on Wednesday urged the government on the steps it is taking to reconcile the differences between nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear states at the Review Conference of the Parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. nuclear weapons. Baron West of Spithead argued that the UK needs to find the channels of communication with Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, open.

The Labor peer, the former First Sea Lord, said: “We really have to find ways to engage with people like Russia because otherwise something will go wrong and the nuclear clock is moving towards midnight.

“And we really have to make an effort to link up with those countries so that something doesn’t go wrong.

“Because there is no doubt, for example, that if we had no nuclear weapons at all, and Russia had them with Mr Putin there, they would do whatever they wanted to do.

“But we really have to make that effort.”

Former diplomat and independent MP Lord Hannay of Chiswick also asked what the government intends to do regarding the “strategic dialogue” between the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (P5) “to achieve a reduction of the risk of nuclear war “.

He continued, “What is the schedule for the next meetings?

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“He will meet, among other things, with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister on security issues.”

In a rare joint statement released on January 3, the P5 (China, France, Russia, UK and US) said they “firmly believe” in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and that a nuclear war “cannot be won and must never be fought”.

The statement follows the announcement that the Tenth Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which was scheduled to begin on January 4, has again been postponed due to the pandemic.

Also on Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Moscow would use military means to neutralize threats to its security if political means were not sufficient, the Interfax news agency reported.

He was speaking after talks in Brussels between Russia and NATO on Moscow’s security requirements.

Mr Grushko said Moscow has presented possible countermeasures it could take during the talks, according to the RIA news agency.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was willing to hold arms talks but would not allow Moscow to veto Ukraine’s ambition to join NATO one day – a fundamental demand on which Russia says it will not give in.

Mr Stoltenberg told reporters: “There is a real risk of a new armed conflict in Europe.

“There are significant differences between NATO allies and Russia. Our differences will not be easy to bridge. “