CIS states in favor of developing system of arms control agreements

MINSK. KAZINFORM Member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) believe it is necessary to enhance and develop the existing system of agreements on arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation, BelTA learned from the press service of the CIS Executive Committee after ministerial consultations, which took place in the CIS HQ in Minsk on 4 June.

The consultations focused on interaction of the CIS states in arms control. Participants of the meeting pointed out that attempts to undermine efforts to build an international system of reliable, equal, and indivisible security for all are unacceptable. Representatives of the CIS states underlined the need to enhance and develop the existing system of agreements on arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation.

The sides exchanged opinions about topical matters concerning nuclear disarmament, bolstering and making more effective existing procedures with regard to the prohibition of chemical and biological weapons, preventing an arms race in outer space, interaction at multilateral platforms. The consultations also touched upon the situation around the structured dialogue initiated within the framework of the OSCE to discuss threats in the region and such important documents as the 2011 Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures and the Open Skies Treaty. The sides compared notes on a number of concrete aspects of arms control and non-proliferation, including the fulfillment of the existing agreements in this field, notes on matters of the military and political situation at the regional level and the global one.