Deputy Minister Valentin Rybakov Participates in the General Assembly Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament
26.09.2016On September 26, 2016, a high-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons took place at the UN headquarters in New York.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Valentin Rybakov attended the event. In his statement (in Russian), he recalled the contribution of Belarus to the international efforts for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Valentin Rybakov noted that the coming weeks would mark 20 years since the voluntary refusal of Belarus from possession of the post-Soviet military nuclear arsenal.
The Belarusian diplomat stressed that, unfortunately, for many years there has been no global progress in nuclear disarmament.Belarus believes that in order to overcome this negative trend, comprehensive, stage-by-stage approach is needed on the basis of mutual respect. In this regard, Valentin Rybakov urged to rise above the existing isolated understanding of the nuclear disarmament issues and to address them in combination with other living processes of the UN, especially with the achievement of sustainable development.
Belarusian representative assured that Belarus would continue to work in the UN on the creation of atmosphere of dialogue and mutual respect whereby progressive development in all its diversity would receive higher priority than military considerations.
