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NPT Review Conference Ended in Disappointed



United Nations: After a conference to review the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) failed, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for discussions to limit nuclear threat, his Spokesperson stated.


The Tenth NPT Review Conference ended late Friday without a final decision because Russia objected to statements about Ukrainian nuclear reactors.


UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the Secretary-General was unhappy that states failed to reach a "substantive settlement"


The UN chief praised the parties' honest participation and the Conference's acceptance of the NPT as the "cornerstone" of global disarmament and non-proliferation, but he lamented that it was unable to address crucial challenges jeopardizing global collective security.


“The heated geopolitical atmosphere and probable nuclear weapon use by accident or error need immediate action. Mr. Dujarric said the Secretary-General encouraged all governments to reduce nuclear risk via communication, diplomacy, and negotiation.


"Nuclear disarmament is the UN's primary goal"


The 1970 NPT is nuclear-armed nations' only binding disarmament commitment.


The Treaty supports disarmament, non-proliferation, and peaceful nuclear energy.


Reviewing five years. 2015 ended without a final report, and 2020 was delayed by COVID-19.


Argentine Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen, President of the Review Conference, told media he was "frustrated"


Before hearings started, Mr. Zlauvinen believed odds were "very poor" due to different perspectives on security commitments.


"But Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February has heightened tensions," he said Friday.


The final plenary meeting was delayed and stopped for many hours, he added, owing to last-minute talks, notably with the Russian delegation, which couldn't agree to the document "without extremely major linguistic adjustments" addressing Ukrainian nuclear sites under Russian supervision.


Mr. Zlauvinen hoped other delegations would embrace this nomenclature, "but they didn't."


"It's vital," he remarked. Without a definitive text, delegates considered knotty issues.


"It's like watching a movie for four weeks but not taking a picture," he said. "No image doesn't imply movie didn't exist."


UN Disarmament Envoy Izumi Nakamitsu also spoke. Like the Secretary-General, she was disappointed.


"The draft wasn't perfect." Clearly. She said that most governments agreed it was in the international community's interest.


Today's task is to reinvigorate nuclear disarmament.


Ms. Nakamitsu said the NPT won't collapse if the Conference ends without a deal.


We must counteract diminishing NPT confidence. "End the frustration," she said.


We must guarantee meaningful and extensive relations between nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states, and among nuclear weapon states.

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