MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Russia’s concept of collective security in the Gulf was presented by Russian president’s special envoy for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov on Tuesday, as follows from the Russian foreign ministry press statement.
"In the context of Russia ideas about ways to stabilize the situation in the Gulf, it was stressed that a really inclusive regional security system may serve as a basis to ensure a worthy future for all nations of this strategically important part of the world. The key principles of the concept are a phased character, multilateralism and strict commitment to international law, first of all the United Nations Charter and its Security Council resolutions. The strategic goal set by the document is to create a comprehensive mechanism of collective security and cooperation in the Gulf that would involve all the countries of the region on the basis of equality," the ministry said.
Russia believes that the idea of a security system in the Gulf may play a key role in consolidating political and diplomatic efforts in that region. The concept envisages the implementation of a long-term plan of action to normalize the situation, strengthen stability and security, settle conflicts, outline benchmarks and parameters of a future post-crisis system and ways to implement tasks stemming from that. "Our initiative develops Russia’s proposals suggested in the late 1990s and undated in 2004 and 2007," the ministry noted.
Organization of a conference
Russia calls for the establishment of an initiative group to prepare an international conference on security and cooperation in the Gulf with eye of setting up an organization for these purposes.
"Practical steps towards the launch of a process of the establishment of a security system in the Gulf may begin with bilateral and multilateral consultations between the parties concerned, including regional and off-region states, the United Nations Security Council, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. These contacts will be geared to form an initiative group to prepare an international conference on security and cooperation in the Gulf. The group will be tasked to agree geographical limits of the future security system, its participants, the agenda, the level of representation, a venue for the future forum and to draft its resolutions, including on measures of security, trust and control," the document says.
"The central long-term task is to establish an organization for security and cooperation in the Gulf that, along with the Gulf nations, would include Russia, China, the United States, the European Union, India and other parties concerned as observers or associated members," the concept says.
Demilitarized zones
Apart from that, Russia calls on the world community to look at its initiative to establish demilitarized zones in the Gulf region.
"The Gulf countries and off-region nations should sign agreements on arms control envisaging, for instance, the establishment demilitarized zones, prohibiting all the parties to stockpile destabilizing arsenals of conventional arms, including anti-tank weapons, balanced reduction of arms by all the parties. Apart from that, they should sign agreements on fighting international terrorism, illegal arms trafficking and migration, drug trafficking and organized crime," the document says.
Russia also calls for non-deployment of permanent forces of off-region states in the Gulf area and establish ‘hotlines’ between the military.
"Russia suggests the following consideration on a package of security, trust and control measures as preliminary ideas that require further discussion. Concerning the situation in the Gulf, countries of that region and off-region nations should undertake mutual commitments of transparency in the military sphere (dialogue on military doctrines, sub-regional meetings of defense ministers, the establishment of hotlines, exchanges of notifications about military drills and flights of military aircraft, exchanges of observers, non-deployment of forces of off-regional states on the territories of the Gulf countries, exchange of information on weapons purchased and armed forces)," the document says.
In the context of strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime in the Middle East resting on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the concept calls on international players to take steps to free the region from weapons of mass destruction.