Russia blocks UN nuclear treaty agreement over Zaporizhzhia clause

Cooling towers of a nuclear power plant. Russia has blocked an agreement at the UN that was aimed at bolstering the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Photograph: Guillaume Souvant/AFP/Getty Images

Russia has blocked an agreement at the United Nations that was aimed at bolstering the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) because Moscow objected to a clause about control over the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine.

The failure to agree to a joint statement after four weeks of debate and negotiation among 151 countries at the UN in New York is the latest blow to hopes of maintaining an arms control regime and keeping a lid on a rekindled arms race.