MOSCOW, 4 September (BelTA) – The defense ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states are in favor of a dialogue in order to restore trust in the world and prevent an arms race. The statement is part of the communique passed by the joint meeting of the defense ministers of the three international organizations in Moscow Oblast on 4 September, BelTA has learned.
The defense ministers believe that strict compliance with the UN Charter and other international law norms plays the key role in preventing conflicts and in resolving urgent global problems. They believe that peaceful negotiations on the basis of these principles as well as equal responsibility for security and non-interference in domestic affairs represent the foundation for resolving all disputes between nations.
Since the number of conflict zones, including those caused by historical differences, is rising in the world, it can escalate the situation. The fact requires close attention, tight coordination, and interaction of the international community, the document reads.
The defense ministers regret the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 8 December 1987 due to the USA's withdrawal. They emphasized the importance of ensuring restraint in the sphere of missiles and of extending the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 8 April 2010.
A constructive dialogue is necessary for the sake of restoring trust, preventing an arms race, and ensuring strategic stability, preventing dangerous military activities, and consolidating efforts aimed at maintaining international peace and security.
The defense ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states also signed a joint statement on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and World War Two. The defense ministers believe it is necessary to take good care and defend historic truth about those events, the truth that is kept in memory of the nations and in archive documents. “We decisively condemn attempts to falsify history, causes and results of World War Two, attempts to rehabilitate and glorify Nazi criminals and those who aided and abetted them. Verdicts of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East cannot expire and must be strictly observed,” the statement reads.
The defense ministers discussed matters of international and regional security, consolidation of efforts to prevent the threat of wars and armed conflicts and further build up military cooperation in modern conditions.