UNITED NATIONS (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Russia, the European Union and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan pleaded on Sunday for nations to ratify a global ban on nuclear testing as U.S. opposition posed a major obstacle to the pact's future.
In strong comments to a U.N. conference that was boycotted by the Americans, Russia challenged U.S. objections and warned that disrupting the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty could lead to ''crisis'' and the ``uncontained spread of nuclear weapons.''
Moscow dismissed U.S. concerns the pact would threaten the safety of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals and offered to work on new verification measures beyond treaty requirements.
Annan called the treaty, known as CTBT, a ``crucial element'' in the fight to keep nuclear weapons from terrorists -- a key U.S. goal since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
``The longer we delay its entry into force, the greater the risk that nuclear testing will resume -- and that in turn would make nonproliferation much harder to sustain,'' he said.
The United States did not attend the conference, which took place on the fringes of the U.N. General Assembly annual meeting and drew many foreign ministers.
President Bush's administration has not formally explained its decision to stay away. The Pentagon, hoping to hasten the treaty's death, pressed for months for the United States to sit out the meeting.
The aim of the conference is to review progress toward ratification of the treaty, which would ban all nuclear blasts, whether in the atmosphere, in space or underground.
The pact was opened for signature in 1996. Since then, 161 states have signed it and 85 of those ratified it. The treaty has not yet entered into force because it needs ratification by 44 specific states deemed nuclear arms-capable.
To date, 31 of those 44 countries, including nuclear powers France, Russia and Britain, have signed and ratified the pact. Of the rest, India, Pakistan and North Korea have neither signed nor ratified the treaty, while the United States, China and eight others have signed but not ratified.