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Moscow slams organizers of fourth Nuclear Security Summit

According to the ministry spokeswoman, theyhave "fundamentally changed the concept of the event by proposing to develop some kind of "instructions" for the International Atomic Energy Agency"
Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow Natalya Garnelis/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow
© Natalya Garnelis/TASS

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Actions of the organizers of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) who suggest developing "instructions" for the UN and other organizations, fundamentally change the concept of the event and are unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"The organizers of the summit have fundamentally changed the concept of the event by proposing to develop some kind of 'instructions' for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism as well as the UN, Interpol and the Global Partnership," the diplomat noted. "Apparently, such recommendations, whatever formal status they may have, will be an attempt to impose an opinion of a limited group of countries on the above-mentioned agencies and groups bypassing their own mechanisms of political decision-making."

Zakharova recalled that Russia had taken part in three Nuclear Security Summits - in Washington, Seoul and The Hague. "Significant progress has been made in strengthening nuclear security. However, at the moment the political agenda of these summits is exhausted. There are no objectively emerging breakthrough solutions in international cooperation on nuclear security that require the involvement of heads of state and government."

"We consider unacceptable the creation of such a precedent of outside interference in the planning of work of the international agencies that have the expertise and rely on democratic procedures," Zakharova said. "In this connection, as we know, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to terminate our participation in preparing for the 2016 summit."

"We believe that the central role in coordinating efforts of the international community in the nuclear security field should be played by the IAEA, which has the necessary expertise," Zakharova added.