Nuclear treaty conference likely to be delayed due to virus

By JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Days before its start date, an international conference on a landmark Cold War-era nuclear treaty is poised to be postponed because coronavirus cases are surging in the host city of New York. A gathering to review the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty was supposed to start at the United Nations’ headquarters Jan. 4, after nearly two years of pandemic delays. But since the U.N. expressed concerns Monday about the resurgent virus and said it couldn’t staff an in-person conference, participants are reluctant to proceed with the Jan. 4 date. Conference President-designate Gustavo Zlauvinen said in a letter Tuesday that the event will be put off if participants don’t tell him otherwise by Wednesday evening.