Defence Minister Peter MacKay said he doesn't expect an agreement on cutting back tactical nuclear stockpiles when NATO leaders gather to finalize a new mission statement in Lisbon later this month - a meeting expected to discuss a missile defence shield.
The nuclear arsenal across Europe and Russia is a lingering source of friction within the NATO alliance and with Russia - but discussions about its future have yet to yield new reductions.
The late November meeting will see North Atlantic Treaty Organization members approve a new "strategic concept" for the 61-year-old organization, one that envisions a more international role.
It's believed the revised mission statement will hold off calling for the scaling back of U.S. thermonuclear weapons stored across Europe: devices originally designed to be dropped on an invading Russian army. NATO has suggested tactical nuclear weapon reductions won't be addressed unless Russia, not among its members, makes similar cuts.
Mr. MacKay agrees. "I think it's unlikely you going to see the non-proliferation movement gain momentum unless there's a willingness on both sides."
The defence minister made the remarks as he prepared for this weekend's Halifax International Security Forum, a Canadian-sponsored gathering of defence and security experts that he called a "scene-setter" for the NATO meeting weeks later.
The forum's 300 participants include former American presidential candidate Senator John McCain, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Israeli Minister of Defence Ehud Barak. Former Bush administration national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and NORAD Commander Admiral James Winnefeld are also attending.
Mr. MacKay was instrumental in establishing the November 5 to 7 Halifax International Security Forum, which is being staged for the second time in as many years.
Topics under discussion this weekend will include nuclear weapons and cyber-security. Mr. MacKay is co-hosting the event with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, an institution founded to memorialize the U.S. Marshall Plan that helped Europe recover after the Second World War.
The defence minister wants to see the Halifax forum become a permanent annual event, saying Canada needs to have influence on international defence and security matters. "We have very important responsibilities with respect to the North American Aerospace Defence Command and NATO and we have concerns ourselves about cyber security and piracy in commercial shipping lanes."
Steven Chase