Russia hopes a pledge it signed Monday with four other global nuclear powers to prevent atomic weapons spreading will reduce world tensions, while saying a summit of permanent Security Council members remains necessary.

“We hope that, in the current difficult conditions of international security, the approval of such a political statement will help reduce the level of international tensions,” Moscow’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the RIA Novosti news agency that Moscow still considered a summit between the world’s major nuclear powers to be “necessary”.

The rare joint statement was signed by China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States. It pledged to ensure a nuclear war is never fought.

The foreign ministry also said it hoped the agreement will “help build confidence and form the foundations of future control over offensive and defensive arms”.

It claimed the pledge was the result of Moscow’s initiative.

“This document was prepared on our initiative and with the most active participation of Russian representatives,” the statement said.

Tensions between Russia and the West have sky-rocketed in recent months over Ukraine, with the US and its allies warning Moscow of a massive coordinated sanctions response if it invades its ex-Soviet neighbour.

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