Lavrov: Russia will not sign Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Russia does not intend to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, as stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting of the UN Security Council on issues of the prohibition of nuclear weapons, the press service of the Russian ministry reported.
According to Lavrov, Russia "shares the task of building a nuclear-free world" but it is necessary to achieve this goal "without such unilateral methods" on which the treaty is based.
The minister explained that it would be possible to completely destroy nuclear weapons only "in the context of general and complete disarmament in conditions of ensuring equal and indivisible security for all, including for those who possess nuclear weapons.” However, the provisions of the Nuclear Weapon Prohibition Treaty, Lavrov believes, do not comply with these principles.
"It ignores the need to consider all the factors that affect strategic stability today and it also provokes deep disagreements among members of the international community and can have a destabilizing effect on the non-proliferation regime," the Russian Foreign Minister said.