UNITED NATIONS, October 31. /TASS/: Russia rejected the Western nations’ proposal to modernize the OSCE Vienna Document on Confidence and Security-Building Measures, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Geneva office, Andrei Belousov, said.
"We confirm our negative attitude to the idea of modernizing the Vienna Document. Even a technical reissuing of it makes no sense amid confrontation and NATO’s course to restrain Russia," Belousov told the UN General Assembly's First Committee on Wednesday night.
"Thousands of NATO servicemen have been deployed on an incessant rotation basis in areas where they have never been before, near Russia’s borders," he went on. "Certain Baltic regions are becoming increasingly similar to near-front zones."
"In general, we have to admit that given the current deficit of trust, one cannot expect a serious breakthrough in the sphere of control over additional armaments in Europe," the Russian diplomat said.
"We consider it necessary to use all possibilities to defuse tensions and step up cooperation," Belousov added.
The Vienna Document was adopted on November 30, 2011, during a plenary meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation in Vienna. It is aimed at reducing the risk of military conflicts in the OSCE zone. In line with the document, the 56 OSCE participating states regularly exchange information on their armed forces, military organization, manpower and major weapon and equipment systems. The countries also share information on their defense planning and budgets.
