Sri Lanka has supported the joint Russian-Chinese initiative to prevent the placing of weapons in outer space, Sri Lankan Permanent Mission in Geneva said in a statement. 

Sergey Lavrov, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on Monday (February 10) officially submitted a joint Russian-Chinese draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force Against Outer Space Objects, to the Conference on Disarmament.

Addressing the conference Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva said that Sri Lanka was glad to see Russia resuming its rightful place in world affairs, and to see China's participation in those efforts; that represented the kind of balance needed in world affairs.
 
Following is a summary of the statement made by Ambassador Jayatilleka
 
DAYAN JAYATILLEKA (Sri Lanka) congratulated the Foreign Minister of Russia for the initiative introduced today, as well as China, who had collaborated on that draft treaty. That was the kind of constructive joint work in the cause of peace that   Sri Lanka liked to see. It took two hands to preserve world peace, as was symbolized in the sculpture inaugurated by the Russian Minister today. Those in the global South had watched a period, starting in the late 1980s, in which Russia had made unilateral concessions, on the basis of the communality of the threats shared by humanity, and on the basis of new thinking. Unfortunately, that period had not seen a matching response from Russia's partners. One part of the bloc had died, but the other side had continued in the old way, seeking hegemony, and attempting to encircle Russia militarily. They had also seen the recrudescence of the practice of naked invasion and occupation. In that context, Sri Lanka was glad to see Russia resuming its rightful place in world affairs. As Asians, Sri Lanka was also glad to see China's participation in those efforts; that represented the kind of balance needed in world affairs.

It was Sri Lanka's position that CD/2007/L.1 should be "a" starting point and "a" basis for future work. Its position could be summed up in "L.1 plus", and the plus concerned those States that had not yet come on board. Those States should not be repeatedly labelled a "minority" in the Conference, in particular when one of those States was the most populous in the world. Those States should be listened to, and L.1 should be modified and taken to fruition. Sri Lanka could also not see why a fissile material treaty should take priority over the draft treaty submitted today. To consider both would impart the necessary balance and transparency to the Conference's work.

PRINT THIS STORY

Contact Information: Send mail to priu@presidentsoffice.lk with questions or comments about this web site. 
Last Updated Date: February 14, 2008 - 4.15 GMT