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Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus “On the 20th anniversary of nuclear weapons withdrawal by Belarus”

03.11.2016

Twenty years ago (on November 26, 1996) Belarus completed the withdrawal from its territory of nuclear weapons, left after the collapse of the USSR.

Without any preconditions or reservations Belarus refused from possessing significant military nuclear capability and marked the commitment to peace and security and, in fact, sets the tone for the subsequent processes in the field of nuclear disarmament in the post-Soviet realm.

Nuclear disarmament is a complex process that involves political and economic implications, requires significant financial and human resources. However, in the difficult circumstances after the collapse of the USSR, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, demonstrated the determination and strong commitment to the goals of nuclear disarmament. By signing in 1992 of the Lisbon Protocol, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine pledged to join the NPT as non-nuclear-weapon States, and became full members of the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START) until the end of its term in December 2009.

As a nation that does not possess nuclear weapons, Belarus had signed an agreement with the IAEA on the application of comprehensive safeguards in connection with the NPT. All existing nuclear material was placed under safeguards of the Agency.

The withdrawal of nuclear weapons from the territory of Belarus was completed just shortly after the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Twenty years ago, with practical steps on nuclear disarmament we hoped to maintain the dynamics of the disarmament process, which in the nineties of the last century inspired hopes of a more secure world. Today expectations of progress in nuclear disarmament are much more moderate and hopes are much more cautious. A consistent and realistic approach to nuclear disarmament remains, in our view, the only possible way to achieve step by step the tangible progress in building a more secure world.

Русский язык

 

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