Moscow pleased with Iraq’s ratification of Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Russia welcomes Iraq’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday. “In all, 183 states have signed the Treaty by now, and 161 of them have also ratified it,” Foreign Ministry officials said. “The Treaty is about to go universal. Russia is sure that “Iraq’s move will undoubtedly accelerate the CTBT's entry into force.” “The ratification of the Treaty by more and more countries mounts pressures on the remaining eight of the forty-four specific states which hold back its coming into effect. The document has not been signed yet by India, North Korea and Pakistan; China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States have signed the Treaty but not ratified it.” “Ratification of the Treaty by all countries in the Middle East would be an important step towards creating a nuclear weapons-free zone in the region,” they say. “We affirm our strong commitment to the Treaty and willingness to promote its early entry into force and we call on all states that have not signed it yet to put their signatures to it and/or ratify the CTBT right now without any preconditions,” ministry officials said.