The United Nations exists to fulfill its founding ideals of preserving peace and security, promoting global cooperation, and advancing human rights. These are the responsibilities of all nations, but especially those that seek to lead in the 21st century. And so we look forward to working with India-and other nations that aspire to Security Council membership-to ensure that the Security Council is effective; the resolutions are implemented and sanctions are enforced; and that we strengthen the international norms which recognize the rights and responsibilities of all nations and individuals.
This includes our responsibility to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Since I took office, the United States has reduced the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy, and agreed with Russia to reduce our arsenals. We have put preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism at the top of our nuclear agenda, and we have strengthened the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime-the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Together, the United States and India can pursue our goal of securing the world's vulnerable nuclear materials. We can make it clear that even as every nation has the right to peaceful nuclear energy, every nation must also meet its international obligations-and that includes the Islamic Republic of Iran. And together, we can pursue a vision that Indian leaders have espoused since independence-a world without nuclear weapons.
