Konstantin Vorontsov, Russian Deputy Head of Delegation and Deputy Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivers a formal right of reply addressing Georgia and Western delegations regarding South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and the implementation of the Budapest Memorandum. Vorontsov reaffirms Russia’s stance that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are independent states recognized on the basis of international law, and defends Moscow’s adherence to the Budapest Memorandum, while criticizing the West and NATO for destabilizing actions in Ukraine and post-Soviet regions. He underscores that any consideration of Ukraine regaining nuclear weapons would be unacceptable to Russia and a violation of the NPT.
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