CTBTO

Mr. Chairman,

We welcome Cuba’s decision to sign the CTBT and look forward to its early implementation. We hope that Havana’s decision will serve as a good example for Latin American states and countries from other regions that remain outside the CTBT and which, for various reasons, postpone signing and / or ratification of the Treaty. In this context, we note the tireless efforts of the Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission Lassina Zerbo, who personally makes a significant contribution to the work on the universalization and early entry into force of the Treaty.

In the current deadlock around the CTBT the importance of collective work  on facilitating the entry into force of the Treaty in order to qualitatively change the state of affairs in this area is increasing. We are satisfied with the outcome of the 11th Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT and the adoption of its Final Declaration. We are grateful to the Co-Chairs of the Conference - Algeria and Germany - for organizing the work and taking into account the views of all interested delegations at consultations on the mentioned document. We hope that if the current state of affairs does not change in the future, we will give a more precise negative assessment of the US decision not to ratify the CTBT.

At the same time, we would like to recall the unacceptable situation with the issuance of visas to the members of the Russian delegation that took place at the Conference. Practically all members of our delegation did not receive visas, although all the requirements on their part were duly met. We consider this as Washington’s deliberate actions aimed at hindering the normal functioning of the forum. In order not to make this event depending on a State that is not interested in the entry into force of the CTBT, we consider it’s necessary to move the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT from New York to more welcoming venues -  Vienna or Geneva.

Mr. Chairman,

As a consistent advocate of the CTBT Russia voted in favor of the resolution on CTBT at the First Committee of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. However, the last two years we are not among its co-sponsors, since the resolution has ceased to reflect the real state of affairs around the Treaty. This year, the  General Assembly resolution does not take into account and even disavows the consensus decisions of the 11th Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Treaty that were hardly achieved in Vienna. This movement backwards does not benefit the CTBT, but, on the contrary, complicates the already difficult situation around it.

Mr. Chairman,

We attach great importance to the balanced establishment of all elements of the CTBT verification mechanism by the Treaty’s entry into force, including the on-site inspection (OSI). We note the proper level of preparation and organization of the first OSI Build-Up exercise held on November 11-15 and aimed at developing the procedures for the initial stage of inspection. Russian experts were involved in the control and scenario groups, as well as the evaluation team. We hope that the results of the first Build-Up exercise will be thoroughly studied and taken into account when preparing the following two Build-Up exercises in June and September 2020 in Slovakia, which should complete series of exercises in the framework of the OSI Exercise Plan for 2016-2020.

We are grateful to the PTS for the preparation of the final draft 2020-2021 Program and Budget Proposals of the Preparatory Commission. We take into account that the level of expenditures provided for by this document fits zero real growth. We note the austerity measures taken by the PTS. We are ready to support the decision to approve the draft Program and Budget Proposals for the next two years during the current session.

We are grateful to the Chairman of the Working Group A (WGA) Permanent Representative of Namibia Ms. Nada Kruger for her efforts to find a possible consensus solution on the use of cash surplus for 2016-2017. At the same time, we would like to emphasize that the selection of projects to be funded from the cash surplus should be done at the earliest date with the involvement of participating states and due account of their opinions. We also note that such decisions should be exceptional in nature and preserve the right of states to voluntarily decide on the distribution of their cash surplus share.

Mr. Chairman,

We support the candidacy of the Permanent Representative of Algeria Ms. Faouzia Boumaiza Mebarki for the post of Chairwoman of the Preparatory Commission in 2020. We have no objection to the proposal of the Executive Secretary to extend the contract of the Director of the Department of Legal and External Relations of the PTS Wang Xiaoning.

In conclusion, I wish you, Mr. Chairperson, and all our colleagues a productive session. In this you can count on the assistance of the Russian delegation.

Thank you for your attention.