🇷🇺 Statement by the Delegation of the Russian Federation at the 69th Session of the Working Group on Administrative and Financial Issues of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization

📍Vienna, May 18, 2026

Full text of the Statement

💬 Today, the CTBTO Preparatory Commission is facing the imposed measure of "zero nominal growth" of the Organization’s budget. Under current conditions, this effectively means not preservation, but rather a gradual reduction in the real capabilities of the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS). Amid rising costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the International Monitoring System (IMS), energy supply, communications, and specialized personnel, a "frozen" budget inevitably leads to a narrowing of operational capacities.

Against this backdrop, we have taken note of a trend that cannot but give rise to concern. Although the Organization’s Financial Statements for 2025 indicate that its overall financial position remained stable, they also record the lowest level of collection of assessed contributions to the regular budget by States Signatories in the past sixteen years. In 2023 and 2024, by contrast, collection rates reached record highs of 94.6% and 96.4%, respectively, whereas the current figure stands at 83.5%.

We take note of the Organization’s Financial Statements for 2025, as well as the report of the External Auditor of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission - the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation. We express our appreciation to the Auditor and note its efforts in conducting a comprehensive audit over the past four years, which resulted in 125 recommendations. We emphasize that all observations fully comply with high international auditing standards.

To date, more than half of these recommendations have been fully implemented, contributing to the strengthening of the Organization’s work. However, efforts should not stop there. Addressing the remaining observations is necessary for the stable and effective functioning of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, which becomes even more relevant under conditions of limited resources. We consider it important to maintain continuity in the work of external auditors. We call upon the incoming Auditor from Kenya to closely monitor the implementation of the remaining recommendations of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.

❗️In conclusion, we would like to call upon States Signatories, in light of the serious challenges at hand, to put aside political differences and ambitions in order to focus on the existing administrative and budgetary issues.