🇷🇺 Statement by the Delegation of the Russian Federation under Agenda Item 19 of the 70th Session of the IAEA General Conference «Application of IAEA Safeguards in the Middle East»

📍Vienna, 17 September 2026

💬 The developments in the Middle East over the past several years are a source of the deepest concern. The fact that large-scale bloodshed in the Gaza Strip has been brought to an end through active international mediation efforts is indisputable and deserves support. However, the Russian Federation warned of the risks associated with initiatives and decisions that disregard the broad internationally recognized legal framework for the Middle East settlement and its key element, the two-State solution. We can now see that, unfortunately, it is still premature to speak of lasting peace in the Gaza Strip.

Systematic violations of the ceasefire in Gaza continue. No reconstruction work is being carried out in the Strip. The written version of the IAEA Director General’s statement delivered at the opening of the current session of the General Conference notes that the implementation of the resolution adopted at the 69th session, entitled «Extending the Technical Cooperation Programme for the State of Palestine to the Gaza Strip», and the implementation of the relevant projects have encountered «inevitable delays due to the situation prevailing in the region». It is unacceptable that obstacles are being placed in the way of the delivery of urgently needed assistance by the IAEA. At the same time, the Agency’s Secretariat could also demonstrate greater persistence and pay increased attention to this matter.

At the same time, tensions between the United States and Iran continue to escalate. The irresponsible and unlawful strikes carried out by Israel and the United States against Iran in June 2025 and subsequently in February–April 2026, including against Iranian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards, are the root cause of the escalation in the region. They certainly do not contribute to the maintenance of peace and security, the implementation of the goals and objectives of the NPT with regard to the Middle East, or the implementation of IAEA safeguards in the region. The Russian Federation has consistently advocated a political and diplomatic resolution of the U.S.-Iranian conflict that would take into account the interests of all States in the region.

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Another indispensable element of this discussion is the establishment of the Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Russian Federation has traditionally supported the establishment of such a zone in the Middle East and regards it as one of our foreign-policy priorities in the field of nuclear non-proliferation. We will participate as an observer in the seventh session of the United Nations Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction, which will open in New York on 16 November.

We note that the discussions at the Conference are constructive and result-oriented. The countries of the region continue to make a conscious and prudent effort with a long-term perspective, shielding this platform from the broader political context and thereby keeping the door open for Israel to potentially join the process. We hope that sooner or later Israel and the United States, which continue to refrain from participating in the forum, will find the strength to reconsider their approach to this critically important regional process. Given the positions of these two countries, there is little basis at present for such expectations.

For our part, we will continue to provide, within the limits of our status, appropriate assistance to the countries of the region in their efforts to implement the Middle East resolution adopted at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference, which remains in force until its goals and objectives are fully implemented.

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