NEW DELHI: India today justified its refusal to be a party to the Treaty to ban nuclear weapons, saying this Treaty in no way constituted or contributed to the development of any customary international law.
”India, therefore, cannot be a party to the Treaty, and so shall not be bound by any of the obligations that may arise from it,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said here replying to a query from media. He, however, stressed ”India continues to attach priority to and remains committed to universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable nuclear disarmament.”
This goal could be achieved through a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed global and non-discriminatory multilateral framework, Mr Baglay said.
”In this regard, India supports the commencement of negotiations on a comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention in the Conference on Disarmament, which is the world’s single multilateral disarmament negotiation forum working on the basis of consensus,” he said. (AGENCIES)
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