Russia Blocks Nuclear Treaty

The Russian government has blocked the adoption of a joint declaration by a United Nations conference on nuclear disarmament.

Report says Russia objected to a draft text citing “grave concern” over military activities around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant which was seized earlier during the war in Ukraine.

The draft section also remarked on the loss of control by the competent Ukrainian authorities over such locations as a result of those military activities, and their profound negative impact on safety.

Russia’s representative, Igor Vishnevetsky, said the draft final text lacked balance.

“Our delegation has one key objection on some paragraphs which are blatantly political in nature,” he said adding that other countries also disagreed with the text.

Reactions

However, a number of countries expressed disappointment that no consensus had been reached.

The Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was “deeply disappointed” at the lack of agreement.

“Russia obstructed progress by refusing to compromise on proposed text accepted by all other states,” she said.

The US representative, Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, said the US “deeply regrets this outcome, and even more so on Russia’s actions that led us here today.”

While the Chinese ambassador said despite the lack of agreement, the process was “an important practice of common security and genuine multilateralism.”

Non-Proliferation Treaty

The Non-Proliferation Treaty, backed by 190 countries in 1970, commits countries that signed up including US, Russia, France, UK, and China to reduce their stockpiles and bars others from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The review conference is supposed to be held every five years, and was due in 2020 but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic

Report says this marked the second failure of its state parties to produce an outcome document. The last review conference in 2015 ended without an agreement because of serious differences over establishing a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction.

BBC/CO