Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu delivered on Tuesday the national address at the high-level segment of the Conference on Disarmament, expressing regret over Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the New START Treaty and calling on Moscow to „reconsider this decision and return to full compliance with its obligations under the Treaty”, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to Agerpres.

The Romanian top diplomat highlighted in this context that the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine has drastically changed the paradigm of European and global security and will have long-term consequences on disarmament and non-proliferation efforts.

Aurescu also reiterated Romania’s firm support for the strengthening of the global architecture of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, seriously affected by the Russian Federation’s unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine. He emphasized that this brutal and unjustified action of the Russian Federation has escalated the existing tensions in the international security environment and added to other serious crises and challenges. In this thread, Aurescu expressed concerns over the developments in the North Korean nuclear file, as well as for the deadlock recorded in negotiations for the revitalization of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu also deplored the fact that the Tenth Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – a document that remains at the core of the current disarmament and non-proliferation regime and an essential instrument of collective security – produced no substantial outcome because of the Russian Federation’s decision to block consensus. In this context, Aurescu reiterated Romania’s support for the Treaty and its three fundamental pillars – disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Agerpres