Not Giving Up Nuclear Weapons Anytime Soon

The Non-Proliferation Treaty is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament so it was a good thing when five nuclear weapon-possessing countries released a joint statement on preventing nuclear war and avoiding an arms races.
The statement from he United States (10,500 nuclear weapons), Russia (14,000), the United Kingdom (200), China (241), and France (300) said that that they take their responsibilities as nuclear-possessor states seriously and reiterated that: 'a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought' and backed their commitment 'to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament.'
Nice words but they ring a bit hollow when you consider that all five are modernizing or expanding their nuclear arsenals which isn't really actively reducing the current global stockpile of thousands of nuclear weapons.
Some have pointed out that in this time of high tension among some of the nuclear states, the statement
is welcome but it is hard to make a case of why in the 21st Century we still need nuclear arms apart from the status it provides so it appears that we are holding on to these extraordinarily dangerous weapons not out of necessity but because of the cachet and feeling of superiority it gives us.
It does seem a huge risk to hold onto weapons which if used would likely end life on Earth and it seems the people with them have no desire to give them up, despite what they may say.