Russia not going to join TPNW, not bound by treaty - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. June 24 (Interfax) - Russia thinks that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is only binding for its parties and not for Russia, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

"As ever, Russia is working on a premise that this treaty sets requirements solely for its participants and is not in any way binding towards our country, or any other state that does not sign and ratify it," Zakharova said in a statement published on the Ministry's website on Friday, commenting on the three-day First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW, which concluded in Vienna on June 23.

"In this context in particular, we note that the assertion that with the commencement of the TPNW, nuclear weapons are 'now unequivocally and comprehensively prohibited by international law' does not correspond to reality," the statement said.

"While sharing the commitment to the noble task of building a world free from nuclear weapons, we continue firmly to adhere to the position that devising the TPNW was premature, erroneous and, essentially, counterproductive."

The treaty is not in any way conducive to a reduction of the growing nuclear risks, brings humankind not an inch closer to its stated goal, and its underlying approach only leads to more contradictions among nuclear and non-nuclear states, Zakharova said.

"It fails to take account of the military-political and military-strategic situation and runs counter to the principle whereby nuclear disarmament must be carried out in such a manner as to lead to a higher level of security for all. We are not seeing any realistic way of implementing, under the TPNW, any practical measures of nuclear weapons reduction proper," the statement said.

Russia has no intention of becoming party to the treaty, Zakharova said.

The ministry expressed its bewilderment at yesterday's claims made at the States Parties' Meeting in the context of the conflict in Ukraine regarding "mutual threats of the use of nuclear weapons" and separate remarks made from the rostrum about Russia allegedly attempting "nuclear blackmail."

"Yet again we underscore: no 'nuclear threats' were ever made nor are being made by Russia. The Russian approaches are based solely on the logic of containment, including in the present environment where the self-proclaimed 'nuclear alliance' of NATO countries, who provoked the exacerbation of the Ukrainian crisis and launched the hybrid campaign against Russia, are dangerously balancing on the brink of a direct armed conflict," the statement said.