Russia: Italy prevented our participation in the conference on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Russia strongly criticized Italy for preventing its participation in a conference on the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the city of Rome.
“Maria Zakharova”, the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that Italy has withdrawn the invitation of the Russian delegation that was going to Rome to participate in the meeting of the “Operational Expert Group of the Initiative to Counter the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction”.
According to “Anatolia” news agency, Zakharova, referring to Moscow’s long history in fighting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, emphasized that Russia was one of the main members of this meeting.
Zakharova emphasized: “We consider this action of Rome to be unfriendly.” This is another provocative attack against Russia. By suspending the participation of our experts in this event, Italy has clearly violated its authority, completely undermined its credibility, and confirmed its unwillingness to impartially and honorably carry out the duties of chairing and organizing multilateral events.”
The spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs further emphasized that efforts to isolate Russia are unacceptable and destructive and show that the United States and NATO are seeking to hijack this security initiative in the field of arms proliferation and the global effort to prevent the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction.
Zakharova stated that Russia warns against any possible understanding and agreement between the countries participating in the meeting in Rome.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia accused the West of politicizing the security initiative in the area of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and said, this approach calls into question the legitimacy of all activities within its framework.
He emphasized: “At the same time, we emphasize the continuation of the commitment of the Russian Federation to the goal of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its readiness to participate in achieving the goals related to it by cooperating with partners who have a real interest in this matter.”
