By Andrew Gray
BRUSSELS, April 21 (Reuters) - NATO criticised Russian and Chinese nuclear arms policies on Tuesday and urged both countries to work with the United States to establish greater stability and transparency at an upcoming international conference.
In a statement, NATO's 32 members underlined their "strong commitment to the full implementation" of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), a cornerstone of global arms control since it entered into force in 1970.
The statement
came ahead of a conference beginning next week at the United Nations in New York to review the operation of the treaty, against a backdrop of geopolitical instability including Russia's war against Ukraine and the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
"Russia has violated crucial arms control commitments and employed irresponsibly threatening nuclear rhetoric. China continues to rapidly expand and diversify its nuclear arsenal without transparency," said the statement from NATO's North Atlantic Council.
NATO members "strongly encourage the United States' pursuit of multilateral strategic stability," it said.
NATO OFFICIAL CRITICISES MOSCOW'S USE OF ORESHNIK MISSILE
In an interview with Reuters, NATO Assistant Secretary General Boris Ruge cited Russia's use of its nuclear-capable Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile – twice so far in Ukraine – as another example of irresponsible "nuclear signalling" from Moscow.
"Today, we face a Russia that has dropped out of all the important arms control agreements, that has been... developing all sorts of... nuclear delivery systems, and that is engaged in the largest war in Europe since 1945," he said.
For its part, Russia said in February it would remain a responsible nuclear power after the expiry of the New START treaty, which set limits on U.S. and Russian missiles, launchers and strategic warheads.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's government has also criticised NATO member France's plans to expand its nuclear arsenal as a "highly destabilising" move that posed a potential threat to Moscow.
Ruge defended France's move as a "measured, reasonable, and transparent response to the threats that we face".
"We're a defensive alliance. We don't brandish our nuclear weapons. We don't engage in irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, which we hear on a very regular basis from Mr. Putin," he said.
China has dismissed Western criticism that its buildup of nuclear arms lacks transparency.
Previewing the forthcoming conference, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday: "China always keeps its nuclear strength at the minimum level required by national security and will never participate in a nuclear arms race."
RUSSIA AND U.S. ARE LEADING NUCLEAR WEAPONS POWERS
The exact size of countries' nuclear arsenals is secret. But the Federation of American Scientists estimates Russia has about 4,400 nuclear warheads, followed by the United States with 3,700, China with 620, France with 290 and Britain with 225.
India, Pakistan and North Korea also possess nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to have a nuclear arsenal but has not confirmed or denied it publicly.
Ruge said NATO hoped the conference would result in a document agreed by all the parties to the treaty, stressing transparency, risk reduction and strategic stability. The treaty has been signed by some 190 countries.
But the two most recent iterations of the conference, in 2015 and 2022, failed to agree a common statement on the outcome of the talks and next steps.
"Even if we were unable to agree on the document, that - in our view - would not call into question the importance and the validity of the NPT itself," Ruge said.
(Reporting by Andrew Gray; Additional reporting by Yukun ZhangEditing by Gareth Jones)
