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Russia has no plans to join treaty on nuclear weapons prohibition — Lavrov

Russia's top diplomat notes that current version of the document is far from perfect

MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Russia has no intention to join the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons as it is of destabilizing nature, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Moscow non-proliferation conference on Friday.

"We are concerned over the fact that we are approaching the 2020 review conference under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons with disquieting results so far," the minister noted.

"The destructive actions by some states, which have broken the consensus on the draft final document of the previous conference in 2015 have done considerable damage to the viability of the treaty and have prompted a numerous group of countries towards the intensified development of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that was recently opened for signing," Lavrov said.

"We do not intend to join the Treaty on the prohibition of these weapons. Its supporters who have recently been awarded the Nobel Prize are apparently guided by a noble goal: a ban on weapons," Russia’s top diplomat said.

"Only in the context of the all-embracing and full disarmament, on the condition of ensuring equal and indivisible security for all, including for the possessors of nuclear weapons," Lavrov said.

"The document submitted for signing is far from these principles, ignores the need to take into account all the factors influencing strategic stability today and may have a destabilizing effect on the non-proliferation regime," Russia’s foreign minister said.

"As a result, the world may become even less stable and predictable," Russia’s foreign minister said.