GENEVA, July 24. /TASS/. Western countries, led by the United States, are using political methods against their competitors in the nuclear power generation sector, and this runs counter to the principles of free trade and international agreements, a senior Russian diplomat has said.

"We would like to note the reinforcement of negative tendencies in the development of nuclear energy. Those are related to the fact that a group of States, first and foremost, the US-led Western countries, use political methods against their competitors with considerably more advanced nuclear technologies. Such steps run counter to the principles of free trade, Article IV of the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] and the purposes and objectives of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]," Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Mikhail Kondratenkov told the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Kondratenkov, who heads the Russian delegation to the event, said Russia "finds unacceptable any attempts to limit the access to the benefits of peaceful atom for any State compliant with its non-proliferation obligations."

"Consequently, we do everything we can to counteract the use of the NPT to pursue political and economic tasks that are not directly related to the non-proliferation issues, and will continue to provide all possible assistance in using nuclear technology to all interested States," he added.

The diplomat added that Russia is actively promoting the development of peaceful nuclear energy worldwide and "champions broad access of States to the benefits of the peaceful atom."

He recalled that Russian-designed power units are currently being build in China, India, Egypt, Turkey, Bangladesh and Hungary. Late last year, a nuclear power plant in Belarus started commercial operation.

In his words, Moscow attaches special importance to training professionals in nuclear sphere, as over two thousand students from 65 foreign countries are currently studying in Russian universities.

"We provide continuous political, financial and expert support to the IAEA in its activities in the field of energy and non-energy applications of nuclear technology. Russia is a donor of the Technical Cooperation Fund," Kondratenkov said.

The Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is under way in Geneva on July 22 - August 2. The review conference itself will be held in New York in 2026.