Russia held Ukraine “and the backers of the Kyiv regime” responsible for blocking the agreement on the final draft of the United Nations’ (UN) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in New York on Friday, which expressed “grave concern for the military activities” near and at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southeastern Ukraine in recent weeks.
Russian deputy delegation head Andrei Belousov asserted that the conference had become “a political hostage” to countries that were determined “to settle scores with Russia by raising issues that are not directly related to the treaty.” Similarly, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department’s deputy director, Igor Vishnevetskii, stated, “Our delegation has one key objection on some paragraphs which are blatantly political in nature,” adding that apart from Russia, many other countries were not in consensus with “a whole host of issues” in the 36-page document.
Russia blocked the passage of a UN declaration on nuclear disarmament of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) August 27, 2022
This firmly isolates Russia, as even China expressed disappointment with its non-passage and did not reiterate support for Russia's objections
In fact, the Iranian foreign ministry’s director general for international peace and security, Asadollah Eshraq Jahromi, stressed that the final draft “leaves no hope for changing the status quo and making some concrete progress towards nuclear disarmament,” and expressed regret about Iran not participating in the “non-transparent” and “non-inclusive” process. He further said the United States’ (US) “hostility” is responsible for a nuclear-armed West Asia, pointing to the fact that the US continues to support Israel despite it not being a party to NPT.
“The review conference should not hide the basic fact that the Israeli regime is the only party in West Asia that has not joined the NPT and refuses to place its nuclear facilities under the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) comprehensive safeguards regime,” Eshraq Jahromi noted, adding, “Israel, with the help and support of the United States, is blocking all serious international efforts to create a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in West Asia.”
The #NPTRevCon closed without consensus, with Russia as the sole objector. The U.S. deeply regrets Russia's failure to advance the nuclear nonproliferation regime at this critical time, but we are proud that all other parties found much common ground. https://t.co/Y7pS0aAJSi
— Vedant Patel (@StateDeputySpox) August 28, 2022
However, the US Department of State singled out Russia for blocking the document based on “language that merely acknowledged the grave radiological risk at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, the very kind of challenge the conference is called upon to address.” It went on to say that other parties were “able to support” the draft “despite Russia’s cynical obstructionism.” “Russia’s actions reflect only on Russia,” it remarked in a statement, urging Russia to end its military activities near the ZNPP and return the plant to the control of Ukraine.
Along the same lines, US special representative for nuclear nonproliferation Adam Scheinman pointed out that the final document did not mention Russia. “Russia is the reason we do not have consensus today,” he stated, adding that Moscow’s last-minute changes “were intended to shield Russia’s obvious intent to wipe Ukraine off the map.”
The document failed to condemn nuclear threats, and Russia watered down the commitment by NWS to not threaten non-nuclear weapon states to become empty and meaningless. This was of course done so Russia can keep threatening to use nuclear weapons as it wishes.
— Beatrice Fihn (@BeaFihn) August 27, 2022
The treaty aims to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, promote disarmament, and strengthen cooperation for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. If the final document had been adopted, it would have proclaimed “that the threat of nuclear weapons use today is higher than at any time since the heights of the Cold War.” Additionally, it would have pledged “to making every effort to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again.” Moreover, a part of the draft underlined “the paramount importance of ensuring control by Ukraine’s competent authorities of nuclear facilities … such as the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.”
Russia’s decision comes against the backdrop of Ukraine and Russia engaging in a blame game over the attack on the ZNPP, which has generated worldwide concern.
Despite Russia blocking formal adoption of final document at #NPTRevCon, it is impressive that all other countries - despite or perhaps because of everything that’s going on - were able to agree. The key here is not that the final document failed but that Russia is so isolated.
— Hans Kristensen (@nukestrat) August 27, 2022
In a joint conference in Lviv last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed concerns regarding the fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces around the nuclear plant, which is the largest in Europe and the tenth-largest in the world. “We don’t want to experience another Chernobyl,” he said, referring to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.
In recent weeks, Russia has stepped away from its commitment to nuclear safety. Earlier this month, it suspended its weapons inspections by US officials under the New START nuclear arms control treaty. A statement by the Russian foreign ministry said that the agreement established “unilateral advantages for the United States and effectively deprive the Russian Federation of the right to conduct inspections on American territory.” The 2011 accord limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy, including the land- and submarine-based missiles used to deliver them.
On Friday, Russia blocked the outcome document at the nuclear weapons conference #NPT. Kremlin was irked by critical references to events at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The 🇨🇿 delegation was not silent. We must not allow Russia's reckless threat to it go unanswered.
— Czech MFA (@CzechMFA) August 28, 2022
Following Russia’s negative response to the NPT, the conference’s president, Argentine Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen said the conference was “not in a position to achieve agreement on its substantive work,” marking the second failure of the conference’s 191 members. The last review conference in 2015 ended with no agreement because of differences on creating a nuclear-free Middle East.
Indonesia, which represented the Nonaligned Movement (comprising 120 developing countries), called the final document “of utmost importance.” Similarly, French Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva Yann Hwang condemned Russia’s “dangerous nuclear rhetoric, actions and provocative statements about raising its nuclear alert level” on behalf of 56 countries and the European Union (EU) and reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to Ukraine.
The founding president of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Rebecca Johnson, told Al Jazeera that the outcome was not “surprising,” as the “NPT has been failing for a long time. […] Here it’s taking place at a time when Russia has launched an invasion against Ukraine but also threatened the use of nuclear weapons in which deterrence has clearly failed.”
Very welcome that @IAEAorg can finally send a mission to #Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. Russia must hand back full control of #Zaporizhzhya & all nuclear facilities within 🇺🇦 internationally recognised borders to Ukrainian authorities to ensure their safe & secure operations. https://t.co/Shsbb3f9p7
— Ann Linde (@AnnLinde) August 29, 2022
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine claimed that the ZNPP was attacked with rockets and artillery strikes over the weekend in the Russian-controlled territory along the left bank of the Dniper river and the Ukraine-controlled right bank, including the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, which are about 10 kilometres from the plant. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov revealed that Kyiv had attacked the plant twice in a day on Saturday, adding that radiation levels were normal.
Furthermore, the ZNPP was able to restore electricity after two of its reactors were reconnected to the grid on Saturday after shelling on Thursday damaged a power line.