Statement by the Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Gennady Gatilov at the plenary session of the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, June 19, 2024
19 June 2024 21:05
1161-19-06-2024
Dear Mr. President,
Dear Colleagues,
The Russian Federation, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a possessor of nuclear weapons and a responsible State party to many fundamental international treaties, is fully cognizant of its responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. Our country is making consistent efforts and proposing concrete steps to establish a truly democratic system of international relations based on the rule of international law that would be relevant to the dynamic process of creating a multipolar world. Within such a system, all States would be confident of their own security, which would allow the international community to address truly and constructively numerous regional and global problems, including the settlement of existing conflicts.
In this context, we would like to draw your attention to the statement made by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during his meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry on 14 June 2024, in which the head of State addressed a range of issues concerning the current state of security both on the Eurasian continent and globally.
Mr. President,
Today, we can state with full confidence that the Euro-Atlantic security system has not only failed to justify itself, but has simply suffered fiasco. We are convinced that the main negative role in this was played by the decades-long policy of the US-led "collective West" which relied both on the aggressive military bloc of NATO and a system of bilateral and narrow-group military- political arrangements.
As the President of the Russian Federation emphasized, for decades our State has not only been pointing out the erroneous course of Western countries, but has also put forward constructive initiatives to build a mechanism for European and global security architecture. Among those there was the idea of adopting a European Security Treaty. Furthermore, it was Russia that proposed holding a summit of the heads of State of the permanent members of the UN Security Council in order, inter alia, to develop a modern concept of international security. Lastly, in order to prevent the ultimate destruction of strategic stability, our country also proposed a mutual moratorium on the deployment of medium and shorter-range missiles. However, all these initiatives, as it is well-known, were categorically and immediately rejected by our partners. The refusal to consider the draft treaties on security guarantees for Russia submitted to Washington and Brussels in December 2021, as well as the course chosen by the West to inflict a "strategic defeat" on our State has led to an exacerbation of the already crisis situation on the Eurasian continent, with no resolution in sight.
Instead of working to strengthen international ties and mutual trust, NATO member States have consistently undermined the agreements already reached. I remind you that it was Washington, with the connivance of its NATO allies in Europe, that significantly undermined strategic stability by unilaterally withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the INF Treaty, and the Open Skies Treaty. Thus system of trust and arms control measures, built over decades in the European continent, was destroyed.
All that NATO members could offer the world in return was, as it was emphasized by our President, what he referred to as a so-called "NATO-style diplomacy". It means that instead of seeking for peaceful solutions to regional conflicts, the alliance blames one side as responsible and unleashes all political, information, and military power against it, including economic sanctions and restrictions. This principle has been implemented by NATO in Europe for the Balkans States, and similar approaches have been applied in different parts of the world: in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, the Middle East, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia. The result is the exacerbation of existing problems, thousands of deaths, the growth of humanitarian and social disasters, and the emergence and strengthening of terrorist enclaves.
Serious concerns are raised by NATO's attempts to extend its failed and destructive course to other regions. I would like to recall that at the alliance's summit in Madrid in 2022, it was announced that NATO plans to address security issues not only in the Euro-Atlantic but also in the Asia-Pacific region. We see this as nothing but an attempt to increase pressure on the countries the alliance deems necessary to "deter", including of course the Russian Federation. Essentially, this is an increase in conflict potential in yet another region of the world.
The NATO-centric system of international security by its nature is designed to preserve the dominant positions of the US in the world. That is why Washington is currently investing in military technologies, including the technologies of tomorrow: in space capabilities, in modern drones, and in strike systems based on new physical principles. All these are areas that will define the nature of armed conflict in the future, and thus the military-political potential of states and, as a result, their positions at the regional and global levels.
Mr. President,
To prevent further extremely dangerous developments, the President of Russia has outlined his vision for a new security system in the Eurasian dimension, which, as he emphasized, will effectively need to be created from scratch. This initiative will be based on the principles of the UN Charter and the rule of international law. Its implementation is aimed at preventing the fragmentation of Eurasia into opposing blocks and is designed to avert the outbreak of a large-scale armed conflict involving Eurasian States and countries from outside of this region.
We would like to emphasize some key elements of this initiative.
First and foremost, the initiative calls for the establishment of constructive, mutually respectful dialogue with all potential participants in the future security system. Russia is ready to ensure that the latter is open to all Eurasian countries wishing to participate in its creation, including NATO Member-States. Geographical proximity and sharing the same continent encourage a joint search for ways of peaceful coexistence. As the President of Russia stressed, if Europe wants to preserve itself as one of the independent centers of global development and a cultural-civilizational pole of the planet, it will sooner or later have to restore the good-neighborly relations with the Russian Federation.
Another important element is the activation of the dialogue process between the multilateral organizations already operating in Eurasia. This includes the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In the future, we hope that other influential Eurasian associations from Southeast Asia to the Middle East will join these processes.
The next stage will imply a broad discussion of the new system of bilateral and multilateral collective security guarantees in Eurasia. In the long term, this will mean a decrease of external powers' military presence in the region.
We proceed from the understanding that the States and regional structures of Eurasia will determine the specific areas of cooperation themselves to ensure joint security. To do that, it is necessary to build a system of functioning institutions, mechanisms, and agreements that are intended to serve the achievement of common goals of stability and development.
The architecture built as a result of joint efforts will not be aimed against anyone's interests, nor will it imply the creation of any alliances and blocks. Its parameters will not only ensure enduring peace but also avoid any geopolitical upheavals as a result of the crisis of Western-patterned globalization. It will create reliable military-political guarantees of protection for both Russia and other countries in the region against external threats, and form a conflict-free space that will foster development. It will eliminate the destabilizing influence of extra-regional players on Eurasian processes.
Mr. President,
The initiative to recreate a security system in Eurasia would be incomplete if we did not address the Ukrainian crisis.
We will not delve into the genesis of this conflict. The Russian delegation has repeatedly clarified the roots and causes of the current situation - which were no fault of our own - at the Conference on Disarmament. However, it is important to emphasize again that the crisis around Ukraine is not a conflict between two States, much less between two peoples, brought about by some bilateral problems between them. If that were the case, as the head of State noted, Russians and Ukrainians, who share common history, culture, spiritual values, and millions of kinship, family, and human relations, would have found a way to justly resolve any disagreements.
It is important to understand that the events in Ukraine are the direct result of the aggressive and cavalier policy that the West has been pursuing since the end of the 20th century, long before the special military operation began.
In these conditions, any attempts to hold so-called peace conferences on Ukraine, to which, by the way, Russia is not even invited, are absolutely absurd. Ignoring the underlying causes of the crisis, disregarding the interests of Russia's national security, and trying to impose terms that would merely preserve the NATO status quo will simply give the green light to the alliance's further destructive policy. This is a dangerous path not only for Europe, but for the entire world.
In this regard, I would like to mention the conditions outlined by the President of Russia, which would allow for the beginning of a peaceful resolution, of course, after the West allows Kiev to lift the so-called self- imposed-ban on negotiations with Russia. Such conditions are clearly formulated and practically feasible. They are: the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, from all territories within their administrative borders as they existed at the time of their incorporation into Ukraine after the USSR stopped existing. Once Kiev declares that it is ready for such a resolution and officially notifies its abandonment of plans to join NATO, Russia will immediately implement cease-fire and begin negotiations, and also will commit to guarantee the unimpeded and safe withdrawal of Ukrainian military units and formations.
Subsequently, all these basic and fundamental positions shall be recorded in the form of international agreements. Naturally, such plan of action also presupposes the lift of all Western sanctions against Russia. Only such an option will lead to the real conclusion of the armed conflict in Ukraine, as well as will facilitate the restoration of trust and good-neighborliness between Russia and Ukraine and in Europe as a whole.
Mr. President,
Proposals for the establishment of security system primarily concern Eurasia. However, we believe that the future system of Eurasian security and cooperation should become, in our opinion, the foundation of the architecture of global security in the era of multipolarity.
As noted in the statement of Russian President, the world is rapidly evolving. There are profound changes in global politics, the economy, and technological competition. More and more States are striving for strengthened sovereignty, self-sufficiency, national, and cultural identity. Countries of the Global South and East are coming to the forefront, and the roles of Africa and Latin America are growing. Based on the new political and economic reality, the contours of a multipolar and multilateral world order are being formed.
In this context, the Russian Federation fully supports the initiative of the Republic of Belarus to develop a program document - a charter of multipolarity and diversity in the 21st century. It can include not only the framework principles of the Eurasian security architecture based on the basic norms of international law, but also, in a broader sense, the strategic vision of the essence and nature of multipolarity and multilateralism as a new system of international relations.
The importance of establishing a new security system against the backdrop of the current unprecedented conflict potential and crisis of trust, including among nuclear powers, is absolutely clear to the entire international community. Russia is interested in ensuring that equal dialogue on such a vital topic for everyone as creating a system of indivisible security and reaffirming the principle that the security of some States cannot be ensured at the expense of the security of others, continues to develop, including in the UN.
We proceed from an understanding that all States, without exception, should participate in the work of building a new world, and interaction should take place in the context of the new realities of multipolarity, on the principles of sovereign equality of States, as well as equal and respectful dialogue. The Russian Federation stands ready for this work.
Thank you for your attention.
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