Armenia duly fulfills its obligations undertaken under the UN Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, State Committee under the RA Government on Nuclear Safety Regulation (ANRA) said in a statement.
According to the committee, inspectors have conducted about 200 inspections: no any non-compliance or deviation from the requirements of international treaties has been recorded.
The full text of the statement is provided below:
In 1991, the Republic of Armenia (RA) joined the UN Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and then ratified the Agreement between the Republic Armenia and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards in connection with the NPT and the Protocol Additional to the Safeguards Agreement.
In accordance with the Law of the RA on Safe Utilization of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes, the RA established the state system on accounting for and control of nuclear materials. The RA Government adopted relevant legal acts to ensure fulfillment of its obligations undertaken under the international treaties.
The RA performs continuous accounting for and control of nuclear materials that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
In accordance with the NPT and the IAEA Safeguards Agreement, the state accounting for and control of nuclear materials is implemented at three levels:
- The facility level: the accounting for and control of nuclear materials is implemented by the facility personnel.
- The state level: the accounting for and control of nuclear materials is implemented by the state authority empowered by the legislation, i.e. the state committee under the RA Government on nuclear safety regulation.
- The international level: the accounting for and control of nuclear materials is implemented by the IAEA inspectors.
In accordance with the mentioned agreements and the procedures established by the laws, the IAEA inspectors regularly conduct on-site inspections to verify the presence of the nuclear material accounted and reported. In its turn the RA submits relevant reports and declarations to the IAEA.
In accordance with the safeguards procedures, video cameras have been installed by the IAEA inspectors to continuously control the movement of nuclear material.
Nodes, installations, safe boxes housing nuclear materials are sealed by special IAEA seals any damage of which is recorded directly through the satellite by the IAEA special unit.
The IAEA inspectors have conducted about 200 inspections: no any non-compliance or deviation from the requirements of international treaties has been recorded.
The RA has participated in four Nuclear Security Summits held at the initiative of the US President. In this context a number of measures have implemented aimed at strengthening the safety of nuclear installations, nuclear and radioactive materials, enhancing their physical protection level as well as preventing the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials.
The RA duly fulfills its obligations undertaken under the international treaties.