BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stands against the newly adopted UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and will stay committed to remaining a nuclear alliance as long as nuclear weapons exist, the organization said in a press release Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was opened for signature at the UN General Assembly in New York.
"The ban treaty is at odds with the existing non-proliferation and disarmament architecture. This risks undermining the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty], which has been at the heart of global non-proliferation and disarmament efforts for almost 50 years… As Allies committed to advancing security through deterrence, defense, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, we, the Allied nations, cannot support this treaty… As long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance," the press release said.
According to the press release, the treaty, aimed at banning nuclear weapons, will be ineffective, and will neither lead to the reduction of nuclear arsenals nor contribute to the security of any country. NATO called on all countries that are considering signing the treaty to give a serious thought to its potential impact on the world peace and stability.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted on July 7 and established a comprehensive set of prohibitions on participating in any nuclear weapon activities. These include obligations not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. So far, the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 has remained the primary legal framework for the nuclear activity of the international community, being the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear states.
