Asian Pacific Region needs equal interaction - Putin

SHANGHAI, May 21 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Asian-Pacific region needs a security architecture ensuring equal interaction and ruling out any exclusive blocs. He was speaking at a session of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia /CICA/. "The region requires the security architecture which would guarantee equal interaction, a true balance of forces and a harmony of interests," the head of the Russian state said. "We're confident that all this should be based on indivisible security." "A future system of true and equal security in Asia has to lean on the balance of mechanisms of bilateral and multi-party diplomacy, and rule out any exclusive systems or blocs. Only this approach will enable us to avoid the emergence in the region of new political and ideological rifts," the Russian leader said. He noted that summit participants were resolving acute problems in the Asian region which still had large conflict areas. "There are persistent risks such as proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, religious extremism, cross-border organized crime and piracy posing a threat to the whole region." "Syrian problems and Middle East settlement problems are a serious destabilizing factor. We all understand that only targeted and collective efforts can effectively resist these challenges," Putin said. Trade and investment cooperation is an important guideline for joint work, he went on. He reminded that a business council had been set up within the CICA framework which was expected to actively interact with small and medium businesses. "As the first step, we believe it would be expedient to discuss the topics of involving small businesses in the implementation of innovation projects," the president said. Russia calls for stepping up humanitarian contacts, in the first place youth exchanges. "To follow up this work, we suggest holding a joint meeting between youth councils of the CICA and the SCO /Shanghai Cooperation Organization/," the Russian leader said. Putin also said that Turkish president Abdullah Gul had been unable to attend the event, due to the tragedy in the coal mine near Soma. He reiterated his condolences to Turkey in connection with the tragedy that claimed 301 lives. "We again express our sincere condolences to the Turkish leadership and all the Turkish people," the Russian president said. Learn more on itar-tass.com