Multilateral disarmament treaties can provide uniform rules for all, Petrishenko says

MINSK, 16 February (BelTA) – Universal multilateral disarmament treaties are the only tools that are able to provide uniform rules of the game for all the states, said First Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Igor Petrishenko as he addressed a plenary session of the Conference on Disarmament, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Belarus.

It is the first session of the Conference on Disarmament under the Belarusian chairmanship. It is held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 15-17 February.

Igor Petrishenko informed the participants of the session on Belarus’ position on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. He also praised the contribution of Belarus to the strengthening of strategic stability in the world, after renouncing its right to the possession of nuclear weapons.

Igor Petrishenko called for the speediest coordination of the Conference calendar. The calendar will provide ground for negotiations over the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. He also stressed the importance of reduction of nuclear arsenals of the nuclear weapon states and the necessity of legally binding security guarantees for the non-nuclear weapon states. Igor Petrishenko also touched upon the problem of outer space militarization and development of new weapons of mass destruction.

The First Deputy Foreign Ministry of Belarus has met with Secretary General of the Conference on Disarmament Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva. The sides discussed urgent issues of Belarus’ engagement in the work of the UN institutions in Geneva. Igor Petrishenko has also attended a meeting at the Secretariat of the UN Economic Commission for Europe. The sides discussed the interaction between the Commission and the CIS and the Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan.

A reminder, Belarus’ Resident Representative at the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva Mikhail Khvostov will be Chairman of the Conference on Disarmament for a period from 15 February to 14 March.

The Conference on Disarmament is the only multilateral negotiating forum that deals with the problems of disarmament and arms control on a global scale. Important treaties that maintain the international security, including the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty, have been worked out within the Conference.

Nuclear disarmament, prevention of the arms race in the space, negative security assurances, and prohibition of new weapons of mass destruction are on the agenda of the Conference. Belarus has put forward a relevant resolution banning new weapons of mass destruction within the UN General Assembly.

In May 2009 the Conference managed to coordinate its calendar that envisaged negotiations over the subject-matter of the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty and a simultaneous substantive discussion of other topics of the Conference agenda. But the participants of the Conference failed to reach a consensus over the implementation of the calendar. In 2010 the Conference again will have to adopt the calendar in order to provide the proper course of negotiations over the urgent problems of international security and disarmament.

Mikhail Khvostov is authorized to hold plenary sessions and consultations with the member states to make sure the sides reach a compromise so that this negotiating forum could begin substantive work. As Chairman of the Conference on Disarmament, Mikhail Khvostov has put forward an initiative to hold a seminar in Geneva in March. The seminar is dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Non-Proliferation Treaty entry into force.

Belarus joined the Conference on Disarmament in 1996. Belarus chaired the Conference in 2000.