Russia Expresses Concern Over US Position on CTBTMoscow is very worried about the US position on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), as the US Senate rejected the treaty in 1999, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said here Tuesday."On the ground of the US Senate's refusal to ratify CTBT in 1999, the new Administration's declaration that it will not carry out nuclear tests is obviously insufficient," said the spokesman in the run-up to the 14th session of the CTBT Organization in Vienna. Yakovenko hoped that "Washington, which publicly is calling for the need to consolidate the international enforcement of nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, will in practical terms honor its commitments in this field, in particular in the framework of CTBT and will eventually ratify CTBT." "In the five years that have elapsed since CTBT was opened for signing, it has not taken effect and will not take effect any time soon," said Yakovenko, stressing Moscow's concern over the status of the treaty. Russia "is again calling on all the countries that have not signed or ratified CTBT to do so as soon as possible so that the goals declared in the treaty could take shape in the near future," he said. "We are confident that the interests of the entire world community will be served when CTBT takes effect and becomes universally applied," Yakovenko said. |
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