The U.S. arms control chief urged the world’s nations on Wednesday to hold “a realistic dialogue” about rising global tensions and the challenges that must be overcome to create the conditions for nuclear disarmament. Undersecretary of State Andrea Thomson told the General Assembly’s disarmament committee that this proposal “offers a practical way forward,” unlike the U.N. treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons, which she called unrealistic…. These challenges “cannot be simply wished away or ignored” by supporters of the treaty to ban nuclear weapons, Thomson said. – Tribune