A nuclear disarmament conference entered a final stage of plenary meetings Monday amid growing uncertainty as to whether members can hammer out an agreement by Friday's conclusion of the nearly monthlong session.
The three panels under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference at U.N. headquarters each submitted an unfinalized draft report to its President Gustavo Zlauvinen, highlighting big gaps among delegates to the first meeting since 2015.
One thorny issue has been the choice of phrasing in addressing the situation surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. The issue was discussed by the conference's second main committee, which is tasked with handling nonproliferation issues.
The latest version of a report on the committee's debates says the NPT conference expresses its grave concern for "the loss of control by the competent authorities of Ukraine over such locations due to military activities conducted by the Russian Federation."
During a meeting Monday, Russia demanded that the plenary session reword the passage, saying Ukrainian weapons have targeted the plant.
Conflicts have been occurring on the premises of the nuclear plant since Russia seized it in March.
Ensuring the safety of the largest nuclear plant in Europe has been a topic of major international concern and the U.N. Security Council decided to convene an urgent meeting on the issue Tuesday.
The review conference of the treaty which came into effect in 1970 convenes once every five years, in principle. Member countries failed to agree on a final document in 2015, while the 2020 meeting was postponed until this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Apart from the nonproliferation committee, the first main committee handles nuclear disarmament, while the third addresses peaceful uses of nuclear power.
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