MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. The development of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) undermines the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Russian Foreign Ministry stated in a message published on Friday. The statement was made during the session of the preparatory committee for the 2020 review conference of the parties to the NPT on the issues of nuclear disarmament, held in New York.
"We are <…> not ready to support the efforts of some States to immediately ban nuclear weapons. We respect their position and understand motivations behind it. At the same time, we consider the elaboration of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to be a mistake," the Russian diplomats informed. "This initiative does not contribute to nuclear disarmament, undermines the NPT and provokes growing contradictions among its Parties."
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the nuclear disarmament process must be gradual and based on a principle of "equal and indivisible security".
"Moreover, the time has come to start working towards multilateralization of the process of nuclear disarmament. At the same time, the Russian Federation does not intend to impose anything on anyone. We believe that this issue requires action on the basis of consensus, while taking into account the interests of all participants," the Russian delegation added.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted in July 2017. One hundred and twenty-two states voted in favor of the treaty text, none of them in possession of nuclear weapons.
Moscow, London, Beijing, Washington and Paris informed that they would not sign the TPNW in a joint statement made at the First Committee of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in October 2018.