Russia refuses to join the nuclear weapons ban treaty.
Russia will not join the Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty (NPT), Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared at a UN Security Council meeting on nuclear weapons prohibition issues.
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| The Russian Foreign Minister announced that the country will not join the Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty (NPT). |
On July 7, 2017, representatives from 53 countries signed this treaty at the United Nations Headquarters.
Guatemala, Guyana, Thailand, and the Vatican have ratified the treaty. However, Russia, the United States, China, and other nuclear powers have not signed it.
"Russia has no intention of joining the NPT. We believe that the complete elimination of nuclear weapons can only be achieved in the context of general and total disarmament, under conditions of equal security guarantees," Lavrov said.
Earlier, Russia's ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, spoke about the potential negative consequences of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty.
He pointed out that the agreement would fail to promote nuclear disarmament because it did not take into account the legitimate security interests of nuclear states.
