[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 26 (Monday, July 7, 2008)]
[Pages 938-939]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

July 1, 2008

    Forty years ago today, the United States joined 61 other nations in 
signing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). 
Today, almost all nations are party to the treaty. The NPT represents a 
key legal barrier to nuclear weapons proliferation and makes a critical 
contribution to international security. I reaffirm the strong support of 
the United States for the treaty and our commitment to work diligently 
to strengthen it further.
    NPT parties must take strong action to confront noncompliance with 
the treaty in order to preserve and strengthen its nonproliferation 
undertakings. We cannot allow

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nations to violate their commitments and undermine the NPT's fundamental 
role in advancing international security. The International Atomic 
Energy Agency (IAEA), through its safeguards system, plays a vital role 
in supporting the treaty by uncovering and reporting violations of 
nuclear safeguards. The United States is committed to ensuring the IAEA 
has the tools and access it needs to do its work, especially in support 
of universal adherence to the Additional Protocol.
    The United States remains firmly committed to continued compliance 
with our own obligations under the NPT. Our record demonstrates this 
commitment, including to the disarmament goals expressed in the preamble 
and Article VI of the treaty. Because of the nuclear reductions I have 
directed and the Moscow Treaty I signed with Russia, the U.S. nuclear 
weapon stockpile already has been reduced by half since I entered office 
and is at its smallest size since the 1950s.
    The United States supports the global expansion of peaceful nuclear 
energy as a means of meeting growing energy demand and utilizing this 
zero-emission source of energy to help meet the challenge of climate 
change. This expansion of nuclear energy must be safe, secure, and not 
contribute to nuclear proliferation.
    It is essential in these times of great challenges to the security 
of the international community, particularly when terrorists and state 
sponsors of terrorism seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction, that 
NPT parties work together to confront the dangers of nuclear 
proliferation. I call upon all parties to act promptly and effectively 
to meet these challenges and ensure that the treaty remains an effective 
instrument of global security.