MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. There can be no winners in a nuclear war, and such war must never begin, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his greeting to the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
"We believe that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, and it must never be fought; we advocate equal and inseparable security for all members of the international community," he underscored in a message of greeting uploaded to the Kremlin’s website on Monday.
Putin said that Russia as signatory to the NPT consistently followed its letter and spirit. "Our obligations under bilateral agreements with the United States on the reduction and limitation of relevant weapons have also been fulfilled," he recalled.
Importance of NPT mechanism
The Russian leader stressed that over the more than half of a century of its existence, the NPT had become one of the key elements of the international system of security and strategic stability. The commitments that it stipulates in the spheres of non-proliferation, disarmament and the peaceful uses of the nuclear powerfully meet the interests of both nuclear and non-nuclear states.
"We are convinced that all NPT-compliant countries should have the right of access to civilian nuclear power without any additional terms whatsoever. We are ready to share with the partners our experience in the field of nuclear energy," he pointed out.
He stressed that Moscow attached great importance to the IAEA guarantee system "as a verification mechanism of the NPT and believes that it is very important to ensure its unbiased, depoliticized and technically grounded use."
The IAEA is the International Atomic Energy Agency, founded in 1957 by the UN General Assembly, to establish international cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear power, strengthen nuclear nonproliferation and ensure the safe development of nuclear energy. The IAEA unites 151 states.
In conclusion, Putin expressed the certainty that the conference would confirm the readiness of all NPT member countries to strictly comply with their commitments and make a tangible contribution to enhancing non-proliferation and world peace, security and stability.
He wished the delegates successful work and all the very best.
The NPT and Review Conference
The NPT Review Conference is held once in five years. The tenth one was to be held in New York back in May 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed it till August 1-26, 2022.
The NPT was signed in 1968 and legitimized the nuclear arsenals of the UK, China, Russia, the United States and France. Other states, by signing the document, are stripped of the right to create or acquire weapons of mass destruction. More than 190 countries are now parties to the treaty. Israel, India and Pakistan remain outside the treaty. In January 2003, North Korea withdrew from the agreement.