Russian government skips Nuclear Security Summit

World Today

As the Nuclear Security Summit brings together hundreds of world leaders to discuss nuclear safety, Russia will be noticeably absent from the proceedings.

CCTV ‘s Daria Bondarchuk takes a look at the move.

Moscow stated they will not be at this year’s events in Washington, D.C. Their last summit appearance was in 2014 at The Hague.

Some have interpreted Russia’s decision as a reaction to their increased tension with the U.S. But the Kremlin maintains that while previous talks were useful, they have now run their course and actually get in the way of larger bodies whose work should be paramount. Most significantly, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“After these questions were successfully discussed in an informal way and after a number of commitments were made unilaterally and voluntarily, it’s time for these questions to be transferred to long existing mechanisms,” Dmitry Konukhov, a research associate with the Center for Energy and Security Studies in Moscow, said.