Eurasia Press & News
The situation in the Persian Gulf has been overshadowed by a series of incidents, including attacks on oil tankers in June and the seizure of the UK-flagged Stena Impero vessel last week.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov on Tuesday presented the Russian concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf to diplomats in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“The main principles underlying the Concept are a step-by-step approach, multilateralism and strict observance of international law, primarily the UN Charter and its Security Council’s resolutions. The future strategic task outlined in the document is the creation of a mechanism of collective security and cooperation in the Persian Gulf region with the involvement on an equal basis of all the regional states,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the concept of collective security, countries of the region will be offered the opportunity to establish so-called ‘hotlines’ between their respective militaries.
“With regard to the situation in the Persian Gulf region, the states, located in this region, and non-regional parties … accept mutual obligations of transparency in the military field (dialogue on military doctrines, subregional meetings of defense ministers, establishment of ‘hot lines,’ exchange of preliminary notifications on military exercises and flights of military aircraft, exchange of observers, abandoning permanent deployment of groups of non-regional states in the territory of the Persian Gulf countries, exchange of information on the purchase of arms and armed forces,” the document reads.
Russia also suggests a halt to the permanent deployment of foreign troops in the region.
“The sides should … sign agreements on arms control, which include the establishment of demilitarised zones, a ban on the destabilising stockpiling of conventional arms, including anti-missile [arms], and a balanced reduction of armed forces by all sides,” the document reads.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia said on Tuesday during a UN Security Council debate on the situation in the Middle East that the rapid buildup of foreign military forces in the Persian Gulf carries the risk of sparking an unwanted conflict.
“Against the backdrop of an ongoing exchange of recriminations, there is an increase in military presence, by states that are not part of the region, which creates risks of an armed clash,” Nebenzia said.
The diplomat called on all parties to contribute to the de-escalation of the situation by resolving the existing differences through political and diplomatic efforts.
