Russia slams US, 11 others over nuke test ban pact

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L04608726.htm

VIENNA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday accused the United States and 11 other countries of holding hostage a global pact banning all nuclear bomb tests and urged them to ratify the treaty as soon as possible.

Russia's ambassador to the international organisations in Vienna, Grigory Berdennikov, made these remarks on the second day of a conference aimed at speeding up the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

"The treaty...remains hostage of the political will of only 12 states," Berdennikov said referring to the countries diplomats call the "dirty dozen".

The CTBT was adopted in New York in September 1996. To date, 168 states have signed the treaty and 104 have ratified it, but it will only come into force once 44 states deemed capable of producing nuclear weapons ratify it.

Of the 44 states, 32 have ratified the pact. The 12 who have not are the United States, China, Colombia, North Korea, Congo, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and Vietnam.

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[ixion]

1. the dirty dozen alright....

We should be ashamed. :-(

[NNN0LHI]

2. The US is sure in some good company here

You can tell a lot about someone by looking at the friends they keep.

Don

[teryang]

3. The current junta will not ratify

...nor will they ask that it be ratified. They intend to resume nuclear testing. They have indicated this publicly on prior occasions.