UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has hailed the commitments made by the US and Russia to work for nuclear disarmament and step up non-proliferation efforts, saying their leadership is "vital" for achieving an atomic weapon-free world.

Under the April 1 joint statement by US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, the two countries will take concrete steps to fulfil their obligations under the UN-backed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which forms the foundation of the world's nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Ban said that their leadership is "vital to the process leading to the achievement of a nuclear-weapon-free world."

Along with their commitment to this goal, the Secretary-General noted that other "significant undertakings" include the Presidents' pledge to realise reductions in their strategic offensive arsenals by replacing the current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with a new, legally binding pact," his spokesperson said in a statement.

The statement said that Ban is "encouraged" by the leaders' efforts to overcome differences pertaining to missile defence deployment and welcomes their commitment to further strengthening the NPT, the global regime for the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the means of delivery of these weapons.

Ban also welcomed the leaders' declaration of support for the UN Security Council resolution on preventing non-State actors from obtaining WMD-related materials and technologies.

As depository of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which outlaws all nuclear explosions and establishes a verification regime to monitor compliance, the UN Secretary General said that he is particularly "pleased" by Obama's statement that he will work towards US ratification of the pact, which Russia has already done.

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