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Diplomat: Russia does not sign Arms Trade Treaty because it is unbalanced

The treaty entered info force on December 23, 2014, signed by more than 130 countries
Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow  Gennady Khamiliyanin/TASS Archive
Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow
© Gennady Khamiliyanin/TASS Archive

NIZHNY TAGIL, September 9. /TASS/. Russia did not sign an international treaty on arms trade because of its unbalanced nature and superficial description of a number of issues, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

"Recently, new tools emerged in the global arms trade, in particular, the Arms Trade Treaty, which came into force last December. We did not sign this document and see no reason to move in this direction," Ryabkov said.

According to him, the document is unbalanced, with the issues of countering the illegal weapons trafficking represented superficially in it.

"Vague humanitarian criteria are documented in the treaty. They give rise to various interpretations, including unscrupulous ones," the Russian deputy foreign minister said.

The treaty was adopted by the UN General Assembly on April 3, 2013, following several years of intense consultations between the organization’s member-countries. A total of 154 countries voted for it. Iran, North Korea and Syria voted against the document, and 23 more countries, including Russia, abstained.

The treaty entered info force on December 23, 2014. It was signed by more than 130 countries, 60 of which presented ratification instruments to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is depository of the Convention.