We, the undersigned, declare the following:
On 26 April 2023, the world will mark the 37th anniversary of the Chernobyl tragedy. The Chernobyl disaster resulted in the explosion of a reactor containing about 200 tonnes of nuclear fuel. Ukraine and the world have made titanic efforts to overcome the consequences of this unprecedented disaster. We honour the memory of the heroes who saved humanity from a global nuclear catastrophe at the cost of their lives and health.
However, nuclear safety in the world has been called into question once again. By seizing the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and continuing to occupy the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the Russian Federation has deliberately violated existing nuclear and radiation safety standards and put the world on the brink of a new nuclear disaster. This danger is still real due to the indiscriminate rocket attacks and bombing carried out by the aggressor country on the territory of Ukraine.
The latest statements of the Russian Federation about its intention to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus are another provocative step of the criminal Putin regime, undermining the principles of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the nuclear disarmament architecture and the international security system as a whole.
We call on all member States of the Council of Europe and their leadership to step up their efforts to improve nuclear safety in Europe and the world, and to achieve joint success with international partners in overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and preventing new nuclear accidents.