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Russia has failed in its attempt at the United Nations to hold a debate on a resolution to preserve a 1987 nuclear weapons treaty that US President Donald Trump had vowed to abandon.
On October 26, the disarmament committee of the UN General Assembly voted against the inclusion of the resolution on the UN agenda. 55 countries voted against the Russian proposal and 31 voted in favor. There were 54 abstentions.
The vote was a victory for the United States, who sought to block the Russian proposal, which he hoped would mobilize global support for the Trump Middle-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
Robert Wood, US Ambbadador to the Conference on Disarmament, said the Russian proposal was rejected because it was "highly politicized" and was not submitted in time for the examination of such proposals.
The top Russian arms control official, Andrei Belousov, said he did not understand the vote, saying most of the abstaining countries "actively support nuclear disarmament" and that a significant number of those who voted against the resolution are in favor of preserving the resolution. INF Treaty.
Russia "has tried to send a serious signal to US political circles about the danger of the path chosen by the current government," he said. "We thought that such an initiative would be supported by all the sensitive forces."
A UN diplomat told AP that the European Union and NATO countries had voted against the Russian proposal and asked others to refrain from it in order to Prevent a further escalation of tensions between the United States and Russia and promote a negotiated solution.
Several of the countries that abstained in the vote argued that the issue should instead be brought to the United Nations Security Council, which deals with threats to global security.
Russian diplomats said that they had not ruled out submitting the proposal to the UN council, where Moscow and Washington exercised a veto.
Belousov said that Russia would work with countries supporting its position to bring the proposal directly to the UN General Assembly, bypbading the disarmament committee
Trump said he was withdrawing the US from the treaty signed by US President Ronald Reagan and the latest leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, because Russia would have raped her since at least 2014 and that the treaty did not cover China. develops missiles prohibited by the treaty.
The treaty imposed on Russia and the United States to eliminate a whole clbad of weapons – all cruise missiles and ballistic missiles launched on the ground, with a range of 500 to 5,000 km.
On October 26, Wood resumed the US accusations, telling the disarmament committee that for five and a half years the United States had been trying to get Russia to participate in the issue of treaty violations.
He added that Moscow had recently admitted to having made a ground missile, but that it did not violate the limits of its scope.
"We presented them with information to the contrary, but they continued to deny their non-compliance with the treaty," Wood said. "Instead of reacting to our commitment, we have received denials and ridiculous accusations that the United States is violating the treaty."
Russia maintained that certain aspects of the US missile defense system in Europe violated the treaty.
Belousov repeated Russia's position, saying that "we have been filing complaints since 2000" but "they are escaping us".
Belousov claimed that at a recent meeting, US officials said Russia was preparing for war.
"Yes, Russia is preparing for a war, I confirm it," said the Russian envoy. "Yes, we are preparing to defend our homeland, our territorial integrity, our principles, our people."
"The Russian Federation is preparing for war and the United States of America is preparing for war (…) .It is the fact," Belousov said.
He said that the Russian proposal to the UN was to convince the United States "to take a constructive position, to continue the dialogue … and to refrain from developing its nuclear potential" – which Trump has threatened to do so once he withdraws from the treaty.
The media reported that the Russian draft resolution describes the INF treaty as a "cornerstone" of peace and stability in the world and calls for it to remain in place. He also calls on Moscow and Washington to resume negotiations on the settlement of complaints from both sides concerning violations of the treaty.
With reportage by AP and AFP
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