Jakarta (EFE).- The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, accused this Thursday the United States and its allies of trying to establish nuclear structures in Asia and the Pacific.
In a press conference broadcast live in Jakarta, where he is participating in a regional forum, Lavrov pointed out that Washington and its allies have the “intention to carry out the project of deploying nuclear infrastructure in non-nuclear countries.”
The Russian foreign minister specifically pointed to the AUKUS security pact (made up of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States) by which the oceanic nation will have a fleet of nuclear submarines from 2030, although without atomic weapons.
Lavrov also criticized that Japan and South Korea have shown their agreement with the US operating nuclear weapons in their territories, through their military bases.
“Now, NATO is trying to move its military infrastructure to this region, including the countries that were invited to participate in the Madrid and Vilnius summits: Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. These last two have sent signals that they would not mind deploying US nuclear weapons or possessing their own,” the head of Russian diplomacy reproached.
Southeast Asia invites Russia to join the protocol against nuclear weapons
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday invited Russia to join the bloc’s protocol against nuclear weapons and collaborate to ensure global food security.
This was expressed by the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, to her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, at a meeting in Jakarta during the meetings of the heads of ASEAN diplomacy and its external partners today and tomorrow.
Later in a statement, Retno explained that Southeast Asia is a nuclear-weapon-free zone and “therefore, all countries with nuclear weapons should promote non-proliferation and disarmament.”
In this sense, he urged Moscow, a nuclear power, to join the Protocol of the SEANWFZ Treaty (The Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone), ratified so far by all 10 ASEAN members.
The protocol establishes the commitment not to threaten other signatory countries with nuclear weapons and to keep Southeast Asia free of this type of weapon.