MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/. An uncontrolled nuclear arms race will be devastating and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) helps avoid it, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.

"The NPT continues to fully function and remains one of the pillars of the international security architecture. An uncontrolled nuclear arms race may turn out to be fatal both for global stability and for the gradual development of certain countries. The treaty helps avoid this," the senior diplomat noted in an interview with TASS on the 55th anniversary of the treaty’s signing.

"As for the current situation around Ukraine, even though it creates certain tensions in the context of the general cycle, it does not affect the NPT directly," he said.