EU regrets lack of result at NPT review conference

BRUSSELS. Aug 29 (Interfax) - The European Union's diplomacy chief Josep Borrell has expressed a regret that a review conference on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) concluded without adopting a final document.

"The European Union deeply regrets that, in spite of all tireless efforts, no substantial outcome of the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was reached," Borrell said in a statement released in Brussels on Monday.

He put it down to "Russia's unwillingness to join the consensus."

In the present security environment, "a meaningful outcome strengthening existing norms, and through those, the rules-based international order, would have been needed more than ever.

"The EU regards the NPT as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament and an important element in the development of nuclear energy applications for peaceful purposes.

"[The EU] recognizes its enduring value and historic achievements in limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, in facilitating cooperation on nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and in significantly reducing nuclear weapon stockpiles in previous decades," the statement said.

"Therefore, we stress the need to implement all obligations under the NPT, and commitments made at the previous Review Conferences, including concrete progress towards the ultimate goal of total elimination of nuclear weapons.

"We are resolved to seek a safer and more secure world for all in accordance with the goals of the Treaty in a way that promotes international stability, peace and security."