STATEMENT by the Member States of the Collective Security Treaty Organization at the 2026 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

We, the Member States of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), reaffirm our unwavering commitment to preserving and strengthening the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

Since its entry into force, the NPT has served as one of the foundations of international security architecture. The near-universal nature of the Treaty testifies not only to its uniqueness but also to its high relevance in the current challenging international environment. Having proven its effectiveness, the NPT continues to play a key role in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The equal importance of the three fundamental pillars of the NPT - disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy - is key to ensuring that the Treaty not only can withstand current challenges and threats, but also remain the basis for inter-State cooperation in these areas for many years to come.

Amid growing turbulence, marked by the erosion of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation treaties and agreements, as well as by increased risks of an arms race outbreak and conflict escalation, the task of preserving and strengthening the NPT assumes particular importance. Fulfilling this task calls for collective efforts of States Parties to maintain the integrity and effectiveness of the Treaty in line with their obligations.

As affirmed by the leaders of the CSTO Member States in the Declaration by the Organization's Collective Security Council in November 2023, our countries are guided by the immutable principle that a nuclear war must never be fought. We call upon all nuclear-weapon States to strictly adhere to the principles and understandings enshrined in the Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapons States on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races of 3 January 2022, and to take effective steps to reduce the risks of nuclear conflict and, accordingly, any military confrontation between nuclear-weapon States.

We have to note that in recent years the NPT review process has been facing serious challenges and disagreements, including on several politicised matters. This, coupled with persistent destabilising trends within the NPT and external factors adversely affecting the Treaty, hampers the achievement of consensus decisions and undermines progress towards implementing all the Treaty's core objectives. This is evidenced by the absence of final documents at the two previous NPT Review Conferences.

We call upon the States participating in the 11th NPT Review Conference to engage in a constructive, substantive and inclusive dialogue based on consideration of the interests of all sides. We believe it essential to focus our efforts on developing consensus-based decisions and strengthen the Treaty regime and its three pillars.

The CSTO Member States stand ready to cooperate with all delegations in order to ensure a balanced and comprehensive review of all three fundamental pillars of the NPT. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to our obligations under the Treaty and our intention to continue coordinating efforts aimed at its preservation and strengthening in the interests of maintaining international peace and security.

We hope that all States participating in the Conference will strive to develop agreed approaches and compromise solutions. Only through such concerted efforts can we lay the groundwork for positive outcomes at the 11th NPT Review Conference that would be acceptable to all States Parties. This will be a meaningful contribution towards our common objective: strengthening of the NPT.