MOSCOW, January 31. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) share common foreign policy principles, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Friday, commenting on the results of the second CELAC summit in Havana.
“The results of the large-scale and representative forum have demonstrated that Russia and the CELAC member states share common principles underlying foreign policies of our outcries,” he noted. “These principles include first of all unconditional respect to the international law and the United Nations Charter, sovereign equality of states, non use of force or a threat of force, democracy, human rights protection, economic, social and environmental tasks of sustainable development, world and regional security, energy and food security, and addressing climate change problems.”
According to Lukashevich, Russia and CELAC have close or identical approaches to a number of pressing international problems, including on Syria and Iran. “Such positions of our Latin American partners create favorable conditions for further strengthening of relations between Russia and CELAC on a wide range of issues,” he stressed.
The spokesman said that Russia considered CELAC formation process as a promising step promoting the harmonization of integration development of Latin America and looked upon this organization as a promising partner.
“We note with satisfaction that ties between Russia and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States are enlivening,” he said. “An important agreement on the establishment of a political dialogue mechanism and cooperation in the Russia-CELAC format was reached in May 2013, when the foreign ministers of CELAC’s three member countries visited Moscow.”
“We are determined to expand our cooperation with this universal structure that unites all Latin American and Caribbean countries,” Lukashevich stressed.
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States held its second summit on January 28-29 January in Havana. The summit yielded a declaration where CELAC member states committed to paper their commitment for further consolidation of Latin America as a new centre of the multi-polar world. Participants in the summit agreed to look for ways of settling regional and bilateral problems through a dialogue and talks on the basis on international laws. They also set a goal of making their region a peaceful development zone.