Russia hopes commitment to prevent spread of nuclear weapons will 'reduce int'l tensions'

Russia on Monday said that it hopes the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) aimed at preventing the atomic weapons from spreading leading to a risk of a nuclear conflict will reduce the world tensions. Signed by the five permanent UN Security Council members—China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States—the pact on Monday set aside the escalating West-East tensions, as the global powers which included Russia, reaffirmed their mutual goal of a nuke-free world. The signing of NPT also encourages Russia and the four other signatories to abide by a key article under which the states committed to full nuclear disarmament in the future. 

Moscow considered the summit between the world’s major nuclear powers as “necessary” for peace as the P5 stressed that they remain “committed to our NPT obligations, including our Article 6 obligation" on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict control. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in a statement to RIA Novosti news agency, welcomed the key pact that seeks to restrict the spread of the nuclear arms.

It is estimated that Moscow alone is in possession of approximately 6,255 nuclear weapons that can be launched via missiles, submarines, and military aircraft. The former Soviet Union has tested approximately 715 nukes between 1949 and 1990 at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in modern-day Kazakhstan and across modern-day Russia, ICAN data suggests. Until now, Russia hadn’t yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

“We hope that, in the current difficult conditions of international security, the approval of such a political statement will help reduce the level of international tensions,” Moscow’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Separately, in a rare joint statement, permanent UN Security Council members China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States stated: "We believe strongly that the further spread of nuclear weapons must be prevented. A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” 

P5 nations pledge for 'complete nuclear disarmament' in near future

P5’s joint statement came after they reviewed NPT -- the landmark non proliferation treaty that came into force in 1970 and sought to prevent spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, except for only peaceful purposes. The international agreement seeks to achieve complete nuclear disarmament of the global nuclear powers to deter the risk of a nuclear conflict in the future. The NPT signed by Russia and four other countries was opened for signature in 1968, and it was postponed from its scheduled date of January 4 last year due to the pandemic. 

The five nations put aside their current differences and tensions with China and Russia, acknowledging that the “avoidance of war between nuclear-weapon states and the reduction of strategic risks is our foremost responsibilities.” "As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons -- for as long as they continue to exist -- should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war," the signatories said in a joint statement released by the White House."We each intend to maintain and further strengthen our national measures to prevent unauthorised or unintended use of nuclear weapons,” they added.