Russia does not intend to sign or ratify the nuclear weapons ban treaty, since this document carries risks for nonproliferation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) Russia does not intend to sign or ratify the nuclear weapons ban treaty, since this document carries risks for nonproliferation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"We will not support, sign or ratify this document. It will not be binding on Russia. We do not believe that it sets any standards or norms, or contributes to the development of common international law," Zakharova said at a briefing in Moscow.
She called the document ambiguous, since the treaty was developed without the participation of the nuclear powers. Russia does not see legal lacunae in relation to nuclear disarmament, and the document was developed without taking into account the fundamental principles that underlie the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and agreements on such a complex issue can only be the result of a consensus of all parties concerned, she said.
Zakharova added that Moscow considered the conceptual framework of the negotiation process, which ignored the strategic context, to be unacceptable.
"We consider the development of a nuclear weapons ban treaty and its promotion a mistake. We do not see how this document can make a practical contribution to the process of limiting and reducing nuclear weapons. Moreover, it is obvious to us that this treaty provokes additional disagreements and alienation between states. It can cause irreparable damage to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and the nuclear non-proliferation system based on it," Zakharova said.
She added that Russia was ready to continue to make a significant practical contribution to freeing the world from the threat posed by nuclear weapons.
