Mr. Chairman,

Dear colleagues,

In a couple of months the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will mark the 50th anniversary since its opening for signature. For five decades the NPT has played a crucial role in establishing and cementing the international legal architecture of disarmament and non-proliferation, which has allowed to effectively prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons for many years.

[...]

The NPT has been tested by time. It rests on the balance of interests of different States. The Treaty in its advanced sound age remains fully relevant. The NPT is absolutely in line with the objectives set at its conclusion. The NPT basic principles provide a solid foundation for settlement of the most complicated problems in the area of nuclear non-proliferation.

And the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iran’s nuclear program concluded in 2015 is a bright confirmation of that. The agreement reached between E3/EU+3 and Iran through the EU mediation is a unique combination of measures developed within the existing framework of the time-tested UN Security Council and the IAEA mechanisms, and additional voluntary steps of the states-parties to the deal. As a result the JCPOA gives full confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iran’s nuclear program while ensuring its inherent right to the development of a civil nuclear program. The Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and the Additional Protocol implemented by Iran provide the Agency with a timeless possibility to monitor, verify and confirm the absence in Iran of any undeclared nuclear material or activity. The IAEA on a regular basis confirms Iran’s full compliance with its relevant obligations.

The JCPOA is quite a fragile compromise. Any deviation from its general philosophy or breach or non-compliance with its provisions as well as any attempts to amend its text for someone’s benefit will inevitably affect the global non-proliferation regime and have a powerful negative consequences for regional and global stability and security.

We strongly insist that continuing faithful and comprehensive implementation of the JCPOA and the UN Security Council resolution 2231 by all states - parties to the nuclear deal without exception meet the interests of the entire global community. For our part, we will continue to comply with our JCPOA commitments as long as the others do so. We are confident that our analysis and assessments are shared by most of the states. And today we call on our colleagues in this hall not to keep silence in a hope that the situation will somehow blow over but make specific serious efforts to preserve the JCPOA.

We, together with the delegation of China, have prepared a draft Joint Statement aimed at voicing our support for the JCPOA that we propose to adopt at this session. The delegations have already had a chance to go through the document. We believe that there is a demand for such a collective message by the Preparatory Committee and hope that the document will find broad support.

The developments around the JCPOA will directly influence any outcome of the efforts to settle the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula through diplomatic means. The breach of the JCPOA without any reasons and against the will of the international community would hardly add to the confidence of the DPRK that any potential future agreements would be observed. We follow with cautious optimism the recent positive developments on the Korean Peninsula, including a number of highest-level contacts with the participation of Pyongyang and recent declarations by the DPRK on suspension of nuclear tests and test-launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. We welcome such steps.

[...]