World peace requires strict compliance with nuclear security accords — Russia FM

MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. It is necessary to ensure strict observance of international treaties in the field of nuclear safety for ensuring peace and security in the world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Venezuelan state television.

"Frankly, we have not seen a situation which would put the world to the brink of a nuclear war, or threaten some world region with the use of nuclear weapons. Thank God, there have been no such situations and, I hope, they are not going to happen," Lavrov said. "But to preserve calm in the world it is necessary to continue to aim at strict observance of all international agreements, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), strengthen the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) mechanisms that secure the observance of the norms and principles of this most important document, make it universal so that all countries could join it, and promote in all possible ways such an important instrument as nuclear-free zones in various regions of the world."

"In Latin America, there is the Treaty of Tlatelolco (conventional name given to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean), which provides for the non-nuclear status. A similar agreement exists in the Southeast Asia, a treaty of nuclear powers in Central Asia has recently been signed and approved by a protocol," the minister said. According to Lavrov, the Russian side calls "for the establishment of a similar zone in the Middle East - free of nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction and their delivery vehicles."

"Unfortunately, this particular zone in this particular region has not been created, but we are continuing the efforts to this end," the Russian foreign minister said.