The clock's hands were pushed all the way back to 11:43 p.m., 17 minutes to midnight, in December 1991, after the world's superpowers signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which at the time, seemed like a promising move
toward nuclear disarmament.
Jayantha Dhanapala, member of the BAS Board of Sponsors, former United Nations under - secretary - general for
Disarmament Affairs and ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States, adds, «Despite the promise of a new spirit of international cooperation, and reductions in tensions between the United States and Russia, the Science and Security Board believes that the path
toward a world free of
nuclear weapons is not at all clear, and leadership is failing.