The European Union’s High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, as well as the G7 Non-Proliferation Directors Group, expressed regret on Monday 29 August, in two separate communiqués, at the lack of substantive results at the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), due to Russia’s refusal to join the consensus.
The 191 signatory countries of the NPT, which have been meeting since 1 August in New York, failed on Friday 26 August to adopt a joint declaration, due to the opposition of Russia, for whom certain paragraphs were “blatantly political”.
“In the current difficult security environment, a meaningful outcome that strengthens existing norms, and through them, the rules-based international order, would have been more necessary than ever”, explained the EU High Representative. In his view, renewed efforts must be pursued in the field of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.
“Therefore, we stress the need to implement all NPT obligations and commitments made at previous review conferences, including concrete progress towards the ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons”, Borrell said.
For its part, the G7 Non-Proliferation Directors Group considered that the Russian refusal “cannot be considered an act of good faith”. He said that although the draft declaration was not adopted, it was supported by all other NPT states parties and provided a solid plan for progress on all three pillars of the Treaty. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)