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AUKUS pact may trigger nuclear arms race, says Russian diplomat

Russian Ambassador to London Andrey Kelin noted that Russia viewed this arrangement very cautiously and this situation was being analyzed in Moscow and there were a lot of questions about it

MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. The new partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (AUKUS) may escalate tensions and trigger the desire of some states to set up nuclear fleets, Russian Ambassador to London Andrey Kelin said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV Channel on Friday.

"Of course, this may escalate tensions in that very calm region. Some countries may also show interest in creating nuclear fleets and they may possess resources for that," the Russian diplomat pointed out.

The AUKUS pact primarily poses a threat to the nuclear non-proliferation regime," Kelin stressed. "That is why it is necessary to look at the role of the IAEA [the International Atomic Energy Agency] in this regard," he said.

"We view this arrangement very cautiously and this situation is being analyzed in Moscow and there are a lot of questions about it. Politically, this deal has a serious negative political charge," the envoy added.

On September 16, Washington, Canberra and London announced the creation of a new security pact, under which Australia was to build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with the help of US technologies with the first of them expected to enter service in 2036.

Under the deal, Australia also plans to furnish its armed forces with US cruise missiles. Due to the AUKUS pact, Canberra severed its largest ever defense contract with France, which branded the deal "a stab in the back."

China has cautioned that the AUKUS deal would escalate an arms race and called on the alliance’s members to give up the "Cold War-era mentality and narrow-minded geopolitical concepts.".