Slutsky welcomes "timely' decision to award Nobel Peace Prize to anti-nuclear weapons campaigners
MOSCOW. Oct 6 (Interfax) - Chairman of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky approves of the Nobel Committee's decision to draw attention to the topic of nuclear disarmament despite experts disagreeing over the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons' (ICAN) contribution in this cause.
"I think the choice of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) as the laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize is relevant. Against the backdrop of what is happening around North Korea's nuclear program, and with the United States' possible withdrawal from the 'nuclear deal' with Iran, turning to the topic of deterring a nuclear standoff, no doubt, could not be more timely," Slutsky told journalists on Friday.
The Nobel Committee's decision should be respected, he said.
"A number of experts have already commented on ICAN's questionable contribution in the nuclear disarmament process. I won't argue with them. But if the Nobel Peace Prize at least partly helps defuse tension in this sphere, it can only be welcomed," Slutsky said.
Earlier on Friday the Nobel Committee in Norway announced ICAN as the laureate of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.