President Medvedev's Message to the Global Zero Summit

To The Global Zero Summit participants:

I extend my greetings to the organizers, participants and guests of your forum.

The end of the Cold War epoch and creation of an atmosphere of trust and partnership in the relations between leading world powers have opened a way to a joint quest for new forms of ensuring international security and stability. Today our common task consists in undertaking everything to make deadly weapons of mass destruction to become a thing of the past.

Russia makes a substantial contribution to the process of nuclear disarmament. Meeting the obligations under the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is one of our first foreign policy priorities. It is about a comprehensive long-term strategy of balanced and stage-by-stage reduction of nuclear arsenals under conditions of equal security for all.

Our country has chosen a contractual way to nuclear disarmament. Russia actively interacts with the USA in preparing a new, legally binding arrangement to replace START. We intend to make all necessary to ensure the success of these negotiations and to agree upon a meaningful and viable document which will give an additional impetus to disarmament process.

I am confident, that a productive dialogue and joint efforts of global community will help to achieve the major goal—to ensure a safe and sustainable future for our common planet.

I wish you interesting discussions and all the best.

D. Medvedev