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Nuclear powers seek to agree positions on non-proliferation - Russia's deputy UN envoy

Andrei Belousov pointed out that the nuclear powers had been able to agree three statements that were announced at a meeting of the UN General Assembly's First Committee

UNITED NATIONS, November 6. /TASS/. The world's five nuclear powers (Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom and France) are actively trying to agree their positions ahead of the upcoming Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva Andrei Belousov, who represented Russia at recent meetings of the UN General Assembly's First Committee in New York, told Russian reporters.

"The five nuclear powers have been actively engaged in these efforts, a number of serious issues are under consideration, on which the nuclear powers - Russia, the US, China, the UK and France - would like to agree in order to come up with a common position or a common vision at the NPT review conference," he emphasized.

Belousov pointed out that the nuclear powers had been able to "agree three statements that were announced at a meeting of the UN General Assembly's First Committee and include a statement on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a statement on the prohibition of the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices and a statement on a zone free of nuclear weapons in Southeast Asia."

Meanwhile, the countries that are parties both to nuclear non-proliferation agreements and accords on the prohibition of nuclear weapons, are also guided by the fact that the first meeting of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is expected to be held in the first half of March. "These are the landmark events that have determined discussions, first and foremost, on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and also impacted documents regarding nuclear weapons," the Russian deputy envoy said.

The tenth NPT review conference was initially scheduled to take place in New York in May 2020 but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is now expected to be held on January 4-28, 2022. The treaty brings together 191 countries.