Nuclear Weapons:
France will not join the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
“France did not take part in the discussions on the NPT. France is not a part of this treaty and will not join it. Thus, this treaty does not bear any legal obligations for us,” Le Drian said, answering questions from the deputies of the National Assembly on Tuesday ( lower house of parliament) of France.
The Minister noted that this is the permanent position of France, which is shared by its key international partners. According to the foreign minister, the NPT does not provide any security benefits in a context marked by the collapse of the international security architecture due to the risks of nuclear proliferation. “And since there are no verification tools and strict clarification tools, there will be no concrete contribution to the efforts that we are making for nuclear disarmament,” Le Drian said. He recalled that France is a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force in 1970.
Read Also: Russian policeman shows solidarity with Navalny – and is released
Treaty Banning Nuclear:
The Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons entered into force on January 22. It is a legally binding international agreement that prohibits the development, testing, storage, acquisition, transportation, and use of nuclear weapons. It has been signed by 86 states and ratified by 51 countries.
The states of the “nuclear club” – Russia, USA, Great Britain, France, China – in 2018 announced that they would not sign the treaty. In their opinion, it does not take into account the key problems that must be solved to achieve sustainable nuclear disarmament on a global scale and are contrary to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which may further complicate further progress in the field of disarmament.