Two-Day Nuclear Security Summit in Washington Without Iran and Russia

Representatives from fifty countries gathered in Washington on Thursday and Friday, April 1 and 2, at the invitation of Barack Obama, the President of the United States, to discuss preventing terrorist groups from acquiring radioactive materials and building nuclear weapons. During the closing ceremony of the nuclear security summit, the U.S. President stated, 'I have no doubt that if these madmen acquire nuclear weapons, they will use them to kill as many people as they can, and that is why we have come together.' Behrooz Bayat, a nuclear expert in Vienna, commented on the significance and goals of the Washington summit, noting that President Obama proposed holding such a summit in 2009 in Prague. Notably, both Russia and Iran were absent from the two-day nuclear security summit in Washington. Russia has taken the position that such gatherings should be held within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and has stated it is only willing to participate in events that involve collective and equal efforts. Barack Obama also referred to the nuclear agreement with Iran as 'successful' and urged the member countries of the 1+5 group to support the nuclear deal with Iran. Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the IAEA, who attended the two-day nuclear security summit, emphasized in a meeting with leaders of the 1+5 group and the European Union that Iran is currently subject to the strongest oversight regime in the world and has made commitments that go beyond its ordinary obligations to the agency. Jalil Roshandel, a researcher in the U.S., commented on Iran's absence from the summit, stating that it would have been better for Iran to be invited. The American newspaper The New York Times reported on Thursday that there are still about 25 countries in the world with nuclear materials lacking necessary controls.