Russia, 2007

Traditionally, the General Assembly sums up

the results of the ending political year. This requires

serious and joint consideration. It is essential to

identify agreed solutions for today’s global problems

based on the collective analysis of current international

affairs. It appears that no one is challenging that

security and prosperity are inseparable in an

increasingly globalized world. Our approach should be

similarly comprehensive, taking into account the

inseparable link between the issues of peace and

development, which has been amply proven by our

recent experience.

The expanding range of conflicts in international

politics through the exacerbation of regional crises, the

increasing threat of terrorism, the risk of the spread of

weapons of mass destruction and stagnation on

disarmament jeopardize international stability, divert

resources from constructive uses and undermines the

potential for sustainable worldwide economic growth.

And it is such growth that is our common fundamental

goal. Poverty and economic backwardness expand the

breeding ground for extremism.

On the other hand, developments over the past

year provide convincing proof that an essentially new

geopolitical situation has been developing in the world,

one that is defined primarily by emerging multipolarity.

We need to agree on what inferences we can draw from

this. In his Munich speech in February, President

Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation called for an

open and sincere dialogue that would enable us to work

out a common understanding of the current historical

epoch and of the modus operandi it obliges our nations

to adopt.

The international landscape is changing, due to

newly emerging centres of global growth. Today,

nobody can cope with global challenges single-

handedly. Neither diktat nor bipolar dominance can

fulfil the task of world governance. What is needed is

collective leadership by major States; this should be

representative both geographically and in terms of

civilizations. The basis for such an informal

mechanism can be provided only by the United Nations

with its unique legitimacy.

Multilateral diplomacy based on international law

has come to the fore. Like any society of free people, a

world of free nations needs universal regulatory

principles to ensure predictability and confidence in

international affairs. The way to achieve this goal lies

through strengthening the United Nations system by

further adapting it to modern global realities. Decisions

here should be based on the broadest possible

consensus among Member States and on the universal

intergovernmental nature of the United Nations. It is

from that perspective that we view the reform

initiatives proposed by Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon.

It will be in our common interest to make more

active use of United Nations peacekeeping capabilities.

These could be improved by more effective use of a

body such as the Military Staff Committee. The

initiative put forward by the President of Russia in

2000 to enhance the work of the Military Staff

Committee remains relevant. Naturally, a renewed

Committee should operate with the participation of all

members of the Security Council, as provided for in

the United Nations Charter.

Much remains to be done also in improving the

interaction of the United Nations with regional

organizations that have proven their ability to

effectively participate in resolving security and

development issues. A positive interrelationship

between the principles of multilateralism and

regionalism is obviously very important. At present,

more than 50 per cent of international trade is carried

out under regional trade agreements. Global trade

regulation mechanisms cannot be effective without

regional integration, which is key to the economic

well-being of all the regions of the world.

Russia is actively signing and using regional

trade agreements to achieve mutual liberalization of

trade. Russia intends to use its current chairmanship of

the Eurasian Economic Community to give a more

practical focus to the organization, which since 2003

has had observer status in the General Assembly.

Russia, along with other sponsors, will submit to the

General Assembly a draft resolution on cooperation

between the United Nations and the Eurasian

Economic Community, aimed at providing a more

systemic basis and facilitating the timely realization of

the Millennium Development Goals. We also hope that

United Nations Member States would honour the

Eurasian Development Bank the status of observer in

the General Assembly. We shall actively promote the

attainment of these objectives, including in the

framework of the process to reinvigorate the

Commonwealth of Independent States and build up

strategic offensive capabilities.

The international community’s efforts should

remain focused on reaching the Millennium

Development Goals. We are concerned that today,

seven years since the Millennium Summit, many

developing countries, especially the least developed

countries, are still significantly behind schedule in

achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Particular attention should be paid to the specific needs

of the African continent.

Russia fully shares the principles of global

partnership in the interest of development, as approved

at the Monterrey International Conference on

Financing for Development and intends to increase its

input to our common efforts in that area. We shall

consistently strengthen our position as a donor country

in accordance with the approach to Russian

participation in international development assistance

approved by President Putin in June 2007.

We are confident that concrete steps to ensure

sustainable socio-economic development in all regions

are a sure remedy against threats to peace and security.

There is a pressing need to use any means

available to strengthen the leading role of the United

Nations in fighting terrorism. Here, the Organization’s

activities should be based on a comprehensive

framework, including the United Nations Global

Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted last year as

resolution 60/288, and on a comprehensive convention

on international terrorism. The Collective Security

Treaty Organization is contributing to these efforts and

has established useful interaction with the United

Nations.

Our efforts to resolve regional conflicts and

urgent social and economic problems should form part

of our counter-terrorism efforts.

Iraq has become a source of destabilization for

the whole region. Ensuring security, not to mention

economic development, in that country requires a new

strategy focused on reaching genuine national

reconciliation with the participation of all of Iraq’s

neighbours and with the support of the international

community. We call upon the Secretary-General to take

an active role in this issue, given the additional power

the United Nations can wield towards an Iraqi

settlement. The participants in recent multilateral

meetings on Iraq have upheld that approach, and we

support the decision endorsed at those meetings.

The indivisibility of security is to be seen clearly

in the Middle East. Early solution of the Palestine

problem based on the two-State concept and the

achievement of a comprehensive Middle East

settlement underpinned by the international legal

platform developed by the United Nations are next on

the agenda. We are convinced that this goal could be

advanced by holding a representative international

conference preceded by thorough preparation. We

consider the United States initiative to convene in

November a multiparty meeting on a Middle East

settlement as a step in that direction. We appreciate the

preliminary considerations voiced by the United States

side regarding the agenda and composition of that

event. We reaffirm the importance of involving the

Quartet of international mediators and the Arab League

in the preparations.

Settlement of the Kosovo problem is only

possible within the framework of international and law

based on negotiations. Unilateral steps will not lead to

a lasting peace and will create the risk of

destabilization in the Balkans and other regions.

Complex problems require an integrated

approach. This is particularly true for the situation

around Iran. The goal of nuclear non-proliferation is an

absolute priority. At the same time, we should not

ignore the task of engaging Iran in constructive efforts

to resolve regional and international issues.

Urgent steps are needed to strengthen the

non-proliferation regime while providing all States

with legitimate access to the benefits of the peaceful

uses of nuclear energy. The joint initiative of the

Presidents of Russia and the United States, put forward

at their Kennebunkport meeting, is aimed at starting

joint practical work in this field.

We are confident that today peace should be

based on willingness to cooperate, especially on

matters directly affecting strategic stability. In this

context, we cannot neglect the unilateral plans in the

area of missile defence. President Putin has proposed a

constructive alternative: collaborative work with the

participation of Russia, the United States and Europe,

and subsequently with that of other countries. Such

work could lead to a genuinely global strategic alliance

encompassing the entire Euro-Atlantic region, which

would allow us to move forward in establishing an

open system of collective security. Our proposals are

under discussion, and we hope that the collective

approach will prevail.

The principle of the indivisibility of security

should form the basis for resolving the situation around

the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.

Russia stands ready to engage in that process, and

proposals are well known. We expect that these

proposals will be seriously discussed during the

upcoming consultations.

The possibility of deploying weapons in outer

space poses a serious threat. The magnitude of that

threat is determined by the global coverage of the

deployment, which can endanger all States without

exception. We consistently oppose the deployment in

space of weapons of any type, and we call upon the

international community to conclude an agreement to

that effect.

Another outstanding global issue is the effective

prevention of climate change, which requires agreed

and scientifically based solutions that are realistic and

balanced and that do not undercut countries’ right to

development. Russia has always stood for a

constructive dialogue with a view to giving a genuinely

universal character to the international climate

protection regime. We hope that the important meetings

that took place this week in New York and Washington

will facilitate thorough preparations for a successful

launch in December in Bali of negotiations on joint

post-2012 efforts.

The spiritual and moral foundations of human

solidarity are of increasingly vital importance. The

spiritual values of all world religions demand that we

achieve intercivilizational accord and fight

manifestations of xenophobia and racism, as well as

the resurgence of neo-Nazi trends. Those are the tasks

to be tackled within the framework of the Alliance of

Civilizations, which we support. The World Summit of

Religious Leaders held in Moscow last year added a

new dimension to this endeavour. We propose to build

upon the results of the Summit and to think about

establishing, under United Nations auspices, a special

forum a kind of consultative council of religions

for exchanges of views among representatives of major

world faiths.

Russia will spare no effort to strengthen

multilateral cooperation within the framework of the

United Nations. I am convinced that with a continued

commitment to the principles of the United Nations

Charter, we can make progress in the creation of an

effective system of collective security, as was the will

of the founding fathers of the world Organization.