PHNOM PENH. June 19 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and his ASEAN counterparts signed a joint declaration on partnership for the security, prosperity and development of the Asia-Pacific region in Phnom Penh on Thursday.
This is the first joint document in Russia-ASEAN relations.
The declaration pledges "dialog, cooperation and a positive response to the challenges of the dynamically changing political, economic and security situation in the Asia Pacific region, in keeping with the norms and principles of international law and the UN Charter."
It voices "adherence to global disarmament and non- proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons and means of their delivery."
The ASEAN member-countries note the efforts of Russia "to provide for regional peace and security, in particular, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization."
Russia "notes ASEAN's encouragement of its partners (Russia, the United States, Japan, the European Union and others - Interfax) to affiliate to the Treaty on Friendship and Security in Southeast Asia and to sign the protocol on the nuclear-free zone in Southeast Asia."