WASHINGTON, August 1./TASS/. The US is working with the IAEA to ensure that the AUKUS partnership meets the nuclear nonproliferation standards, President Joe Biden said in a statement in connection with the opening of the Tenth Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
"We are working closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure the AUKUS partnership among Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States meets the highest nonproliferation standards," the statement said. The US leader also stated intentions to re-establish the country’s leadership "in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including seeking to establish the IAEA Additional Protocol as a universal standard for both international safeguards and for nuclear supply arrangements."
Last September, Australia, the UK and the US announced a new trilateral security partnership. Under the AUKUS agreement, Australia is set to build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines based on US technologies with the first batch expected in service from 2036. Australia also plans to furnish its armed forces with US cruise missiles. The AUKUS partners later divulged their intentions to work together to accelerate development of hypersonic capabilities.
The NPT Review Conference is held every five years. The Tenth Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was scheduled to take place in New York back in May 2020, but it was rescheduled for August 1-26, 2022 amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.