NAGASAKI, November 24. /TASS/. Pope Francis has highlighted the need to preserve the treaties on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons urging world leaders to adhere to basic international law principles.

"We must work tirelessly and strongly insist on preserving the main international legal tools that guarantee disarmament and non-proliferation, including the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons," he said on Sunday in his address on nuclear disarmament in Nagasaki’s Peace Park, which commemorates the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945.

"Being convinced that peace is possible and necessary without nuclear weapons, I ask political leaders not to forget that these weapons are unable to shield [us] from threats to either national security or international stability," he stressed.

The pontiff also urged politicians to abandon mistrust in relations with each other and cautioned against the collapse of the international arms control system.

"It is essential to interrupt the dynamics of the currently prevailing atmosphere of mistrust, which is fraught with the collapse of the international arms control architecture. The undermining of a multipolar world is becoming even more dangerous amid the development of new weapons technologies. The situation requires urgent measures and efforts on the part of all world leaders," Pope Francis said.

He described security based on fear and mistrust, which "undermine any possibility of dialogue," as illusory. The pontiff described huge sums of money spent on manufacturing, upgrading and purchasing weapons in a world where millions of people live in inhuman conditions as "challenge to heaven."

"It is necessary to bear in mind the disastrous consequences of using nuclear weapons for mankind and the environment and give up the idea of cherishing fears, mistrust and enmity," the pontiff added.

His remarks came amid a crisis that emerged after the United States’ withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program and the ongoing negotiations on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In addition, a key arms control accord, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, was terminated at Washington’s initiative in August.

In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the leaders of several countries, including NATO members and China, as well as international organizations, to impose a moratorium on deploying these missiles. According to some sources in the Vatican, such a message was forwarded to Pope Francis as well.

During the BRICS summit in mid-November, Putin suggested expanding the number of countries, which could take part in arms control negotiations, including talks on nuclear weapons.

Up to 80,000 people were killed in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and the fallout from it. Pope Francis came there 38 years after his predecessor, John Paul II (1920-2005), visited Japan.