UN member states fail to reach agreement on treaty to regulate global arms trade

U.N. member states have failed to reach agreement on a new treaty to regulate the multibillion dollar global arms trade.

Some diplomats and treaty supporters blamed the United States for triggering the unraveling of the month-long negotiating conference.

Hopes had been raised that agreement could be reached on a revised treaty text that closed some key loopholes by Friday’s deadline for action. But the United States announced Friday morning that it needed more time to consider the proposed treaty — and Russia and China then also asked for more time.

Ambassador Roberto Garcia Moritan, the conference chairman, predicted that despite the failure to reach consensus on a treaty “we certainly are going to have a treaty in 2012.”

He said the overwhelming majority of U.N. member states like the treaty and there are several options for moving forward.