(The Guardian) Penny Wong blasts Russia for 'deliberately obstructing' UN nuclear treaty agreement
The foreign minister Penny Wong has blasted Russia for “deliberately obstructing” a nuclear treaty conference at the United Nations amid a dispute about control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine.
Wong said that the government was “deeply disappointed” that the review conference of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT) did not reach a consensus outcome after four weeks of negotiation between 151 countries at the UN in New York.
Russia had refused to agree to a statement of support for the NPT which aimed to reaffirm and bolster the treaty’s aims of disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The statement included a paragraph that emphasised “the paramount importance of ensuring control by Ukraine’s competent authorities of nuclear facilities … such as the Zaporizhzia nuclear power plant”. The plant is currently occupied by Russian forces.
“Russia has deliberately obstructed progress. Its actions directly challenge core tenets of the NPT,” Wong said in a statement on Sunday. “We condemn Russia’s ongoing unprovoked and unjustifiable war of aggression and call on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory.”
Wong said Australia remained “deeply committed” to the NPT goal of a world without nuclear weapons: Australia is steadfast in our support of the NPT as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime. Irrespective of this outcome, the treaty continues to deliver tangible security benefits to us all.
