UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday promoted the Russian idea of collective security in the Gulf region.
Finding measures to prevent a further escalation and establish a reliable system of collective security in the Gulf region is the aim of Russian President Vladimir Putin's initiative to hold an online summit of the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany and Iran, Lavrov told a high-level debate of the Security Council on the situation in the Gulf region.
In order to establish a reliable system of regional security, Russia submitted a collective security concept for this region, based on a constructive, unifying agenda targeting the creation of mechanisms for the collective response to many threats and challenges with the involvement of the Gulf countries, including Iran, said Lavrov.
"We propose that practical steps be taken to implement this idea involving neighboring states and the permanent members of the Security Council, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other interested parties," he said.
The path to this goal will not be an easy or a fast one, but it is something that the Gulf countries first and foremost need to do themselves, Lavrov noted, adding the job of outside players is to help them create conditions to move closer together through patient and consistent work.
Lavrov asked for the initiation of respectful dialogue, taking into account the concerns of all parties, on the basis of international law.
"I'm confident that if we work together openly and impartially, and if we pool our political will and our creative potential, we will be able to help the states of the Persian Gulf overcome this difficult, historical period and to create an effective system of regional security, either as a first step or at least as a basic principle for that," he said.
Lavrov said the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), remains an important instrument to prevent an escalation of tensions in the region.
"The JCPOA was a major political and diplomatic agreement that made it possible to push back the threat of military conflict and strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Russia, along with all other responsible parties to the agreement, remains fully committed to this agreement and convinced of the need to preserve and actively protect this marvelous result from difficult but positive, collegial work," he said.
The United States, along with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, were part of the deal. But Washington withdrew unilaterally from the agreement in May 2018.
The difficult and fragile situation in the Gulf region is having a destabilizing effect on international relations, and could become dangerous and unpredictable again, Lavrov warned.