NEW YORK. Sept 24 (Interfax) - Ukraine urges United Nation member states to follow its example in global nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych said.
"Concrete steps must be urgently made to lower the risk of the proliferation of nuclear materials and know-how. We urge other countries, UN member states, to follow our example in global nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation," Yanukovych said at the 65th session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
Ukraine declared its non-aligned status in 2010, which significantly eased tensions in the region and created a zone of stability and strategic equilibrium around it, he said.
It was the world's first state to have given up the third most powerful nuclear arsenal in 1994, Yanukovych also said.
Ukraine took another step in this direction at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, announcing its decision to give up its stock of highly-enriched uranium, he said.
Kyiv hopes, that its international partners will abide by their obligations with regard to security guarantees for Ukraine, Yanukovych said
Ukraine is a staunch advocate of measures to strengthen the UN peacekeeping potential, he went on to say.
"The UN could make better use of its potential for regional security mechanisms for strengthening global security," Yanukovych said.
Also, mechanisms must be built for responding to new and altered threats to international peace and security, including piracy at sea. The UN must play the key role in combating piracy, he said.
"Ukraine plans to continue strengthening the safety of international sea navigation and to defend the social rights of crews, and urges all nations to cooperate," the Ukrainian president said.