WMDFZ conference should be held not later than in couple of years - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. May 10 (Interfax) - Moscow has noted the necessity of holding a conference on establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction (WMDFZ) in the Middle East before 2020, Mikhail Ulyanov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, said.
"We should seek that the Conference on a WMDFZ take place prior to the 2020 NPT Review Conference, preferably no later than in a couple of years. In this regard, the preparatory work should begin as soon as possible. We believe that the first meeting could be held in the near future. We are ready to work for that purpose with the other co-sponsors of the 1995 Resolution, the UN Secretariat and, of course, the countries of the region," Ulyanov said in his speech in Vienna, the text of which was posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website on Wednesday.
"As food for thought, the Russian Federation has prepared and submitted a working paper that outlines our vision on further possible steps on a WMDFZ," he said. "In our view, the preparation for the Conference should be conducted in the form of preparatory meetings, which preferably would be attended by all States of the region without exception. These meetings should be held on a regular basis as frequently as required," he said.
Preparatory meetings could be held in Geneva or Glion (a village in Switzerland), Cairo and Moscow, Ulyanov said.
"A venue of such meetings could be Geneva and/or Glion as it was the case during the previous NPT Review cycle when the Swiss Government offered to host consultations. As an alternative, we suggest to consider holding preparatory meetings in Cairo back to back with the sessions of the League of Arab States Committee of Senior Officials in order to ensure high representation of the Middle East countries, both in terms of its level and membership. We are ready to host one or two preparatory meetings in Moscow if States of the region express such an interest," he said.
