Russia ready for broader cooperation with non-aligned movement

Russia is seeking to create a common security space and “is ready to build up cooperation with the Non-Aligned Movement for peace and prosperity and the benefit of the whole humankind,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his greetings to the participants and guests of the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which opened in Tehran on Thursday. The message of greetings, which was posted on the presidential website, noted that “the forum is held in the hard times for international relations.” “The need is growing for coordinated actions to clean up the aftermaths of natural and man-made disasters and ensure energy and food security,” Putin noted. “The United Nations certainly has the leading role in the debates and the search for responses to these challenges. However, other types of multilateral cooperation are also quite needed in the polycentric world order taking shape,” the president went on to say . “Bringing together over a half of countries in the world, including mostly dynamically developing countries, the Non-Aligned Movement makes a tangible contribution in the build-up of trust and stability on the global scale,” the president said with confidence, Russian Itar-Tass news agency reproted “The time proved the justice of the goal of the work in your forum that was formulated several decades ago that is the achievement of the detente of international tensions through the deideologization of the world policy and the consolidation of high humanistic ideals. I am convinced that this is a reliable basis for building a modern system of interstate relations, which would respect the right of each person for his own way of development and cultural and historical originality,” Putin remarked. The Non-Aligned Movement is an international organization, which brings together countries that are not included in any military blocs. Twenty-four presidents, three kings and about 80 prime ministers and ministers are participating in the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. High on the agenda of the summit are the Iranian nuclear program and the settlement of the conflict in Syria. Meanwhile, it is planned to discuss the issues, which are related with the observance of human rights, Iraqi, Palestinian and Afghan problems, as well as topical aspects of economic and social development in Africa and Latin America.