MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. The idea of the AUKUS alliance, which comprises Australia, the UK and the US, to arm Australia with nuclear submarines is fueling an arms race in the region, Russia’s envoy to the international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Wednesday.

"The Americans announce that they will provide [the means] to build nuclear-powered subs to Australia. The bottom of a sub can hold up to 2 tons of highly enriched uranium. I wouldn’t call it, at least for now, a violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, but this is a very serious challenge, this has never happened before," he said at a news conference.

According to Ulyanov, "this opens a Pandora's box for those who want to build nuclear submarines."

"It's Brazil, it's South Korea, it's Iran," he said.

Australia, the UK and the US established a new partnership in the field of security in 2021. As part of the agreement, Australia, among other things, plans to use US technology to build at least eight nuclear submarines, the first of which will be put on combat duty in 2036, as well as equip its armed forces with US cruise missiles.