Washington Distorts Facts on US Nuclear Weapons Control in Europe - Moscow

Sputnik News

19:15 24.03.2015(updated 19:44 24.03.2015)

Last Thursday, US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said that the US actions were consistent with the non-proliferation treaty and did not violate any of its provisions.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The US State Department distorts the facts by saying that US nuclear arms in Europe remain under Washington's control and are never transferred to other countries, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement Tuesday.

"Psaki obviously distorts facts by saying that US nuclear weapons in Europe 'remain under US control at all times and are never transferred to other countries.' In reality, the so-called joint nuclear missions of NATO envisage the participation of European non-nuclear member states in joint nuclear planning and skills training," Lukashevich said in a statement posted on the ministry's website.

Under the treaty that entered into force in 1970, nuclear powers are banned from handing over the control of nuclear weapons to any recipient, whether directly or indirectly.

Lukashevich mentioned NATO's most recent annual nuclear exercise Steadfast Noon that had taken place in October 2014 in northern Italy, pointing out that such practices contradict the provisions of the non-proliferation treaty, which aims at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

Moscow has repeatedly voiced concern over US violations of the non-proliferation treaty.

In early March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the unilateral actions of the United States and its allies undermined the outlook of reaching a world free of nuclear weapons.

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