№ 27 (75), 2026. PIR Center and MGIMO hosted a seminar on “Outcomes of the 11th NPT Review Conference: A Meeting with the Head of the Russian Delegation, Ambassador-at-Large Andrey Belousov”

MOSCOW. JUNE 11, 2026. PIR PRESS. “The NPT is the definitive international instrument underpinning global security, which Russia steadfastly advocates for and strives to strengthen”, – the Head of the Russian Delegation, Ambassador-at-Large Andrey Belousov said.

PIR Center jointly with MGIMO University held a seminar on “Outcomes of the 11th NPT Review Conference: A Meeting with the Head of the Russian Delegation, Ambassador-at-Large Andrey Belousov”. Amb. Andrey Belousov addressed the event as the keynote speaker. Dr. Dmitry Stefanovich, Research Fellow at the Sector of Military Economy and Innovation of the Center for International Security at IMEMO RAS and member of the PIR Center Advisory Board, and Ms. Alexandra Zubenko, Deputy Director of the PIR Center, delivered expert commentaries. Officials from the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation attended the event. Mr. Grant Gevorgyan, a first-year student of the International Security MA Program, moderated the discussion.

During the discussion, the participants addressed the primary contradictions among the NPT Member States, disagreements surrounding the adoption of the final document, the Iranian and Israeli nuclear programs within the Middle East dossier, and the actions of the western nuclear triad. At the opening of the seminar, the attendees observed a minute of silence to honor the memory of Amb. Yuri Nazarkin (1932-2026), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USSR and the Russian Federation, a distinguished diplomat, scholar, and international security expert. Following this, Dr. Vladimir Orlov, Founding Director of PIR Center, delivered the opening remarks, stressing the critical importance of the subject matter against the backdrop of the contemporary crisis of strategic stability.

During his keynote address, Amb. Andrey Belousov assessed the outcomes of the past conference. “The main faultline lies between the proponents of immediate and unconditional disarmament and the nuclear-weapon States”, said the Ambassador-at-Large. Commenting on the absence of a final document, he emphasized that “the final document was not adopted, but we do not view this as a tragedy. All States Parties agreed to continue their work within the framework of the next cycle of the review process. Naturally, all states will promote their own agendas. However, the most important point is that the Treaty exists, it remains in force, and all states have reaffirmed their commitment to the Treaty, which inspires a certain degree of hope”.

During the expert commentary session, Dr. Dmitry Stefanovich focused on the actions of the western nuclear triad: “The western nuclear triad statement put forward the idea of multilateral negotiations on strategic stability and risk reduction; however, the term ‘arms control’ does not appear at all”. For her part, Ms. Alexandra Zubenko commented on the Middle East dossier at the Review Conference: “This time, the primary source of contention was not only the traditional dispute over establishing a zone free of WMDs in the Middle East but also the escalating confrontation surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. Numerous states voiced well-founded concerns regarding the level of Tehran’s cooperation with the IAEA”.

During the Q&A session, the participants discussed the outcomes of the conference. As Mr. Igor Vishnevetsky, independent expert, and member of the PIR Center Advisory Board, noted: “Each review process is unique in its own way. Moreover, its success or failure bears little relation to whether or not a final document was adopted”.

In the final comment, Dr. Vladimir Orlov added: “The final document is not the litmus test by which to judge the success or failure of a conference. In particular, the primary success of the NPT since its entry into force is considered to be the year 1995, when the decision was made on the indefinite extension of the Treaty. However, that conference concluded without the adoption of a final document”.

A large audience attended the seminar remotely, and the event received extensive media coverage, including reports by the TASS (In Russian) and RIA Novosti (In Russian) news agencies.

The PIR Center website features a dedicated section titled The Future of the NPT and Russia’s Interests alongside a series of publications addressing the 11th NPT Review Conference:

• The Middle East and the NPT: Between Disillusionment, Iran, and the Search for Equal Security: Interview with Nabil Fahmy by Maxim Nosenko
• How States Learned to Stop Worrying About the NPT Treaty and Love the Nuclear Weapons. And What to Do with It? by Vladimir Orlov and Sergey Semenov
• The NPT: A Patient, a Panel, and a Dose of Castor Oil by Vladimir Orlov
• Peaceful Atom, Iran, and the Sahel: Niger’s View on the 11th NPT Review Conference: Interview with Ari Tila by Alexandra Zubenko
• Fatigue Without a Breakthrough: How the 11th NPT Review Conference Began: Interview with Andrey Baklitskiy by Alexandra Zubenko

Keywords: NPT; Russia; Review Conference 

NPT

E16/NOS – 26/06/11