Gorbachev called for UN meeting to cut military spending due to COVID-19 pandemic

Gorbachev called for UN meeting to cut military spending due to COVID-19 pandemic

Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev has called for a special session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to reduce military spending by 10 to 15 percent to counter the pandemic and mitigate its socio-economic impact.

Gorbachev said in an open-ed for Time magazine said, “we need to demilitarise world affairs (…) I am calling on world leaders to convene an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly, to be held as soon as the situation is stabilized”. 

The world needs an urgent “rethinking of the entire concept of security”, Gorbachev added. 

In 2020, the world has already risked a clash between great powers — in Iran, Iraq, and Syria, — but conflicts and an arms race can not solve global problems, Gorbachev continued. 

Gorbachev’s message comes as the global pandemic caused over 123,010 casualties worldwide.  

Neal Path

Neal Path is a reporter covering international affairs and defense news. He leads a team of specialist technical journalists and defense forecasting analysts, working across a range of online products. Neal Path is a defense technology specialist and has written widely on most areas of defense technology, but his particular areas of interest include missile defense, precision weapons, naval warfare, sensor capabilities and military operations.

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