The deal would provide a framework for increased cooperation between the armed forces of the two nations but would not involve any binding commitment for either country to come to the defence of the other.
Yet it sees value in turning that into a legally binding commitment for all, including Israel, India and Pakistan, which never signed the NPT and which could now be brought into at least a part of the non-proliferation regime.
"A resolution should create a binding commitment for the regime to give up its chemical weapons within a specific time frame, to credibly, reliably, promptly place them under international control for destruction," he said.
The household shoppers were given the option of changing their minds in the first month, but then it became a binding commitment for six months.
A prerequisite for the United States agreeing on a pact with mandatory measures, he said, would be binding commitments from the largest developing countries.
The company did get a warning, though: Microsoft can be fined up to 10percentt of yearly global turnover – without regulators having to prove their case – if the company fails to stick to its legally-binding commitment for the next five years.
"[Energy and climate secretary] Ed Davey's efforts to eliminate overseas funding for coal power generation are very welcome, but the UK could do a lot more to push for a binding commitment from the OECD to phase out funding for all high carbon projects.
A proposed 2025 deadline for the elimination of all nuclear weapons had been scuttled by the nuclear weapons states, he noted, as had a proposal for a legally binding commitment from states with nuclear weapons not to use them against those without.
But unlike the accord joined mainly by European retailers that was unveiled on Monday, the plan lacks legally binding commitments to pay for those improvements.
