MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. The United States violates provisions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by training pilots of its allied countries to use nuclear weapons, Mikhail Ulyanov, the head of the Foreign Ministry's non-proliferation department, said on Wednesday.
Under the NPT, nuclear weapon states are committed not to transfer nuclear weapons to other countries, Ulyanov said.
"The so-called joint nuclear missions virtually are training of pilots from non-nuclear state to use nuclear weapons," he added.
"We consider this a serious violation of NPT obligations," he said adding that Washington has been avoiding discussions of this issue.
The diplomat also stressed that the US undermines the global strategic stability and makes further nuclear disarmament steps problematic.
"Continuation of nuclear disarmament looks problematic in such conditions," Ulyanov said. "We are putting emphasis on creation of necessary conditions for disarmament, but this is the question to the United States," he added.
Russia expects NTP Review Conference to confirm commitment to treaty obligations fulfilment
Ulyanov added that Russia expects the Review Conference to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to be held in New York in April - May to confirm the treaty’s feasibility and the commitment of its signatories to fulfilling their obligations.
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"We expect the conference in New York to confirm the NPT feasibility and commitment of its signatories to fulfilling their obligations," he said. "The main items on the conference agenda will be nuclear disarmament and the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East."
"It would be ideal if the final document is adopted at the conference, but it’s no tragedy if this does not happen. Such documents are adopted, as a rule, only at half of the review conferences," the diplomat said. He added that heated debated was expected at the conference and its participants would hardly be able to overcome all differences.
The 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will be held from 27 April to 22 May 2015 at the UN Headquarters in New York. The President-designate of the Review Conference is Ambassador Taous Feroukhi from Algeria.
Reviewing Russia's obligations under START treaty not on agenda
Russia is not considering reviewing its obligations under START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), Deputy Director of Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department on Security Affairs and Disarmament Vladimir Leontyev said on Wednesday.
"At a certain stage [in the future], Russia will probably have to analyze observance of START treaty in connection with [NATO’s] plans to deploy a missile defense system in Europe," Leontyev said. "However, the issue is not on the agenda at the moment," he added.