Secret Meeting of the Five Nuclear Powers in Casablanca: Timing and Objectives
Policy Assessment by Dr. Mohamad Kawas, Progress Center for Policies – London
Introduction
Moscow has revealed a secret meeting held by the five permanent nuclear members of the UN Security Council in Casablanca, Morocco. This disclosure — and the conspicuous silence of Paris, London, and Washington — has raised questions about the necessity of the meeting, its objectives, the issues discussed, and their urgent relevance to ongoing wars and conflicts.
Key Facts
On 30 May 2026, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov disclosed, in statements to Russian media, an important secret meeting held in Casablanca, Morocco, just weeks prior.
Ryabkov confirmed the meeting took place under British coordination within the P5 framework, involving experts and diplomats from the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom.
The dialogue, according to leaks, focused on strategic stability and nuclear risk reduction, while acknowledging the absence of tangible progress due to the military and political turbulence stemming from the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
Western states maintained official silence, while Moroccan media welcomed Morocco’s role as a trusted neutral mediator — the news having been leaked by the Russian side.
On 22 May 2026, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference concluded in New York without reaching full consensus on a final document, due to deep divisions over the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. The conference highlighted risks from attacks on civilian nuclear facilities and nuclear proliferation threats.
Russian leaks indicate the secret meeting was held approximately between 15–20 May 2026 in Casablanca, away from media coverage, lasting three days. It involved nuclear experts and senior diplomats, was entirely closed-door and technical in nature, and produced no joint statement.
The meeting’s agenda reportedly covered:
-Nuclear escalation risks in Ukraine
-The Iranian nuclear crisis and the ongoing 2026 war
-Nuclear non-proliferation and testing
-Strategic stability among major powers
On 27 April 2026, intensive preparations for the NPT Review Conference saw the five powers express shared concern over the risk of unintentional escalation in Ukraine and the fallout from the Iran war.
Experts confirmed that preceding months had witnessed unprecedented international tensions. In February 2026, the United States announced its intention to draft a multilateral nuclear arms limitation framework following the expiration of the New START treaty.
The term “START 3” generally refers to New START, the last strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty between the US and Russia, which has since expired. Its non-renewal removes constraints on both countries’ arsenals and opens the door to a new arms race and strategic instability. Russia, by contrast, expressed readiness to operate in a world without nuclear constraints.
China refuses to join any treaty, given that the size of its nuclear arsenal does not yet reach the threshold that would warrant capping its expansion.
On 6 February 2026, the United States accused China of conducting a secret nuclear test in 2020 and called for a new, broader arms limitation treaty encompassing both China and Russia.
Reports indicate China possesses between 600 and 800 nuclear warheads compared to approximately 3,700 held by the United States. Western reports suggest China produces roughly 100 nuclear missiles annually, reflecting deep American concern over China’s growing capabilities.
On 27 May 2026, Norway and France signed a defense agreement placing Oslo under France’s “nuclear umbrella” by joining the Paris-led “forward deterrence” program.
Strategic affairs experts confirmed the meeting came in response to escalating risks of nuclear war, in light of repeated Russian warnings, President Putin’s allusions to the possible use of “strategic deterrent weapons,” and the US President’s remarks about the possibility of obliterating Iranian civilization.
Specialized research suggests that intractable global conflicts have pushed regions such as Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia into a fever for acquiring nuclear weapons or seeking nuclear umbrellas — in a manner that now threatens international peace on a nuclear dimension.
Moroccan sources note that the 2026 Casablanca meeting evokes the historic Anfa Conference of 1943, which brought together Roosevelt and Churchill to shape the end of World War II.
These sources discount the idea that historical symbolism alone drove the major powers to choose Casablanca once again. They note that since Russia and China abstained on 31 October 2025 from vetoing a US Security Council resolution supporting the Moroccan option on the Sahara question, Morocco has become an ideal ground of international convergence for hosting such a meeting.
Information confirms that the Iranian nuclear file was present in the meeting’s deliberations, driven by those states’ determination to avoid the birth of a new “nuclear North Korea” that would place nuclear power beyond the control of the major powers.
Conclusions
The convening of this meeting among the five permanent nuclear powers in complete secrecy reveals a shared interest in controlling nuclear power globally, after it has become liable to spiral out of control — particularly following India, Pakistan, and North Korea’s acquisition of nuclear weapons, and the imminent Iranian possibility.
Although the meeting was held in total secrecy and produced no decisions, what has leaked reveals shared anxieties that current conflicts could escalate into a third world war of a nuclear character.
Nuclear disorder stems from New START’s expiration without renewal and Beijing’s refusal to join any agreement limiting its arsenal.
Due to geostrategic conflicts and shifting balances of power, Russia has abandoned its former Soviet-era role of pressing China on nuclear matters, and both Russia and China have refrained from exerting pressure on North Korea on this issue.
International conflicts and the wars in Ukraine and Iran may push Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East into a nuclear arms race that will subsequently prove difficult to control.
The Casablanca meeting took place at the expert level, as political leaderships require the data needed to proceed with what may be protracted negotiations aimed at recalibrating the world’s nuclear arsenals.
Experts agree that Russia and China have no interest in helping Iran build a nuclear bomb — despite their conflict with the West — as neither wishes to see the emergence of a new nuclear power that would trigger the rise of additional nuclear states in the Middle East.
Moroccan sources contend that Casablanca’s selection as the venue for a meeting of this magnitude reflects Morocco’s new diplomatic standing as an attractive power, following the five powers’ consensus in supporting the UN resolution backing the Moroccan option on the Sahara question.
