21 April 2000
The South African Government has noted with satisfaction, the announcement by the Government of the Russian Federation that the State Duma ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 21 April. The ratification by the Russian Federation of this Treaty comes at a critical juncture in time, on the eve of the commencement of the 2000 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (NPT). The Government commends the steps taken by the Russian Federation during the past two weeks in the field of arms reduction and disarmament, namely the ratification of START-2 and now the CTBT and firmly believes that these developments constitute a movement forward to the ultimate goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons. With three of the five Members of the P-5 having ratified the Treaty, the South African Government hopes that those that have not yet done so and whose ratification will be needed for the Treaty to enter into force, will do so. Only through a clear and unequivocal commitment to the aims of the regimes established by the CTBT and NPT, will the international community's confidence in the nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament regimes be reinforced.
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
Pretoria