MOSCOW. JUNE 23, 2025. PIR PRESS. «The indefinite extension of the NPT at the 1995 Review Conference was an important diplomatic achievement. It was controversial, then and now, because indefinite extension reduced the potential leverage of non-nuclear weapon states to press the nuclear weapon states on their Article VI obligation to work toward nuclear disarmament. But time has proven the wisdom of the decision. If the 1995 Conference had, instead, only extended the NPT for another 25 years, I do not believe the NPT would have been further extended in the 2020 review cycle, and the world might now be living with no Non-Proliferation Treaty. It is vitally important to preserve international institutions, even imperfect ones, that restrain nuclear weapons, because if they collapse, they are unlikely to be replaced», – Prof. Jeffrey Knopf, Professor and Chair of the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS).
May 11, 2025, marked the 30th anniversary of the indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference. Underlying the importance of this event, PIR Center jointly with MGIMO University held an expert seminar entitled “Outcomes of the Preparatory Committee Meeting for the NPT-2026 Review Conference and the 30th Anniversary of the Indefinite Extension of the NPT”, while the Kommersant Daily published the article by Dr. Vladimir Orlov, PIR Center Founding Director, entitled “Secret Recipe of the NPT Longevity”.
PIR Center’s most substantial project to mark this milestone was the creation of a special section on our website entitled “Experts on the NPT Indefinite Extension”. It contains comments from 20 experts and diplomats, including those who participated in the 1995 Review and Extension Conference. Among them are: Dr. Ildar Akhtamzyan, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Russian Foreign Policy, MGIMO University, PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Mr. Hamad Alkaabi, Ambassador of the UAE to the Federal Republic of Austria and International Organizations in Vienna; Prof. Alexey Arbatov, Head of Center for International Security at IMEMO RAS, Academician of RAS, PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Mr. Andrey Belousov, Minister Plenipotentiary, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Mission to the UN Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Mr. Alexander Bulychev, Head of the Nuclear Security and Nonproliferation Office, Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Robert Einhorn, Senior Research Fellow at Brookings Institution (US, Washington D.C.), PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Mr. Dastan Eleukenov, Chairman of the Board at Kazakhstan Agency for International Development (KazAID), PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Dr. Nabil Fahmy, Foreign Minister of Egypt (2013-2014), Dean Emeritus of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy of the American University in Cairo, PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Mr. Zacharie Gross, Minister Plenipotentiary, Counselor, Embassy of the French Republic to Russia; Prof. Jeffrey Knopf, Professor and Chair of the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS); Mr. Zhan Kosherbaev, Senior Lecturer at the Department of International Relations and World Economy, Faculty of International Relations, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University; Prof. Vladimir Kuchinov, Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations of the Institute of International Relations, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Dr. Mikhail Lysenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (retired), Associate Professor of International Law Department at MGIMO University, PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Mr. Adlan Margoev, Research Fellow at the Institute for International Studies and Lecturer at the Department of Oriental Studies, MGIMO University; Dr. Tariq Rauf, Former Head of Verification and Security Policy Coordination, Office reporting to Director General, PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Daria Selezneva, IMEMO Junior Research Fellow; Prof. Li Sikui, Professor at the Institute of Regional and Country Studies, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing, China); Mr. Dmitry Stefanovich, Research Fellow of the Sector of Military Economy and Innovations of the Center for International Security at IMEMO RAS, PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Mr. Victor Vasiliev, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), PIR Center Advisory Board Member; Mr. Igor Vishnevetskiy, Independent Expert, Deputy Director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry (2021 – 2023), PIR Center Advisory Board Member.
Prof. Alexey Arbatov, Head of Center for International Security at IMEMO RAS, Academician of RAS, PIR Center Advisory Board Member
Prof. Jeffrey Knopf, Professor and Chair of the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS)
Dr. Tariq Rauf, Former Head of Verification and Security Policy Coordination, Office reporting to Director General, PIR Center Advisory Board Member
Dr. Robert Einhorn, Senior Research Fellow at Brookings Institution (US, Washington D.C.)
Mr. Hamad Alkaabi, Ambassador of the UAE to the Federal Republic of Austria and International Organizations in Vienna
Dr. Nabil Fahmy, Foreign Minister of Egypt (2013-2014), Dean Emeritus of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy of the American University in Cairo, PIR Center Advisory Board Member
Most respondents agreed that the indefinite extension of the NPT in 1995 was an important step in strengthening the nonproliferation regime and international security. “The unconditional and indefinite extension of the NPT in 1995 was a diplomatic miracle, and its significance cannot be overstated. Negotiating such a treaty with the same scope of commitments and verifications would be impossible now,” Mr. Alexander Bulychev said, Head of the Nuclear Security and Nonproliferation Office, Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Zacharie Gross, Minister Plenipotentiary, Counselor, Embassy of the French Republic to Russia, underlined: “The parties to the NPT made a vital contribution to international security when they collectively decided the indefinite extension of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The decision confirmed that the principles of the NPT were strong and fair, and made to last and that all Nations benefited from it, as they continue to do to this day. France and Russia, along with all other Parties, were undoubtedly key contributors to the success of the 1995 NPT Conference.”
However, there was room for disagreement, with some experts were provocative in their thoughts. For example, Dr. Nabil Fahmy, Foreign Minister of Egypt (2013-2014), Dean Emeritus of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy of the American University in Cairo, PIR Center Advisory Board Member, said: “The alternative, which was a 25-year revolving extension, would have been much more effective and useful because it would have put the Treaty and the parties under constant review working for Nuclear proliferation. The indefinite extension was a big mistake that was detrimental and testimony that the best can be the enemy of the good.”
Full versions of the expert comments are available in a special section on PIR Center’s website, in either English or Russian. You can also read the selected PIR Center’s publications on the 1995 Review and Extension Conference in a special section here. It is also available in both languages: English, Russian.
