Nuclear security

UN Anti-Nuclear Treaty Is 'Very Significant' Step Toward Nuke-Free World

The ten-page treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons will be open for signatures from any UN member state on 20 September during the annual general assembly. 

Nuclear powers such as the US, Russia and some allies who host nuclear weapons on their soil did not take part in the discussions, but supporters of the treaty said they hope nuclear-weapon states will be able to eventually join the treaty.

Russia said that it would not sign the new convention because it runs counter to the country’s national interests. The director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s non-proliferation and weapons control department, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that Moscow fears that the treaty could "have a negative influence on the state of affairs in the international arena, primarily in nuclear non-proliferation."