Russia stalls new draft of UN nuclear deal over Ukraine issue
The conference began on August 1 at the UN headquarters in New York to review the nuclear disarmament treaty
Russia blocked the process of adopting a joint declaration at the UN Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.
The 191 countries that signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review the treaty every five years to see if it is sufficient to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Russia has objected to the new draft statement, which was created after a review of the treaty by a conference of representatives of the signatory nations at the UN headquarters in New York. It expressed "deep concern" over military activities around Ukraine's nuclear facilities, particularly the Zaporizhia nuclear facility.
The agreement was last reviewed in 2015 and even then the participating countries failed to reach a consensus.
The next review was supposed to take place in 2020, but could not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
That meeting was held this year in New York. Delegates failed to agree on a joint declaration after the four-week conference began on August 1.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was "deeply disappointed" by the failure to reach an agreement.
"While all other countries have agreed to accept the proposed text of the agreement, progress has been hampered by Russia's refusal to compromise," he said.
America's representative, Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, said the US was "deeply saddened by the outcome of this conference, especially as we sit in this conference because of Russia's denunciation."
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