On the back of their recent atomic arms reduction accord, the United States and Russia urged all UN member states Monday to follow their lead with further progress towards nuclear disarmament.

US and Russian envoys made the appeal at a UN General Assembly debate on disarmament and world security at which UN chief Ban Ki-moon also issued a strong plea for shifting global resources from weaponry to development.

US Ambassador Susan Rice described the signing of the successor START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) deal in Prague earlier this month by Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev as "a major milestone."

Alongside her, Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin urged all states "to join efforts with Russia and the United States in this field and to contribute actively to the disarmament process."

Rice said: "Our joint appearance here today is a sign of the much strengthened relationship between our two nations, a relationship built on candor, cooperation and mutual respect."

She noted that together, the United States and Russia possess more than 90 percent of the world?s nuclear weapons.

Rice also highlighted Washington's new nuclear policy under which it vowed not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear weapons state that is party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and in compliance with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations.

And she stressed that Washington would work hard to ensure the success of next month's NPT review conference here.

"All nations must recognize that the non-proliferation regime is undermined if violators are allowed to act with impunity," she said in a clear reference to Iran and North Korea, which have failed to comply with provisions of the NPT and UN demands that they scale back their nuclear ambitions.

Rice pledged that the US delegation would be "a constructive, flexible, and consensus-building voice" during the NPT review conference, which is to be held May 3-28.

"But we cannot do it alone. We encourage all delegations to put aside dated arguments and build on today?s momentum to make real progress on disarmament, non-proliferation, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy."

Ban said the world was over-armed with global spending on weapons well over one trillion dollars a year and rising, while badly needed development was under-funded.

"These priorities should be reversed. By accelerating disarmament, we can liberate the resources we need to combat climate change, address food insecurity and achieve the (poverty-reduction) Millennium Development Goals."

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