India, Russia, China express concern over threat of WMDs

India, Russia and China on Monday expressed concern over the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) falling into the hands of terrorists following the 15th Foreign Ministerial Meeting between the three countries here.

"We are deeply concerned about the threat of WMDs falling into the hands of terrorist groups, including the use of chemicals and biological agents for terrorist purposes," a joint statement issued following the meeting, which was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese and Russian counterparts, Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov, said.

"We would cooperate to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by non-state actors, including terrorists," it stated.

"We need to address the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological terrorism through intensified meaningful work in international fora."

According to the statement, the three sides consider the UN has a role in developing universally accepted norms of responsible state behaviour in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to ensure a peaceful, secure, open, cooperative, stable, orderly, accessible and equitable ICT environment.

"In the use of ICTs, we emphasise the paramount importance of the principles of international law enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, particularly the state sovereignty, the political independence, territorial integrity and sovereign equality of states, non-interference in internal affairs of other states and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms," it said.

The three also affirmed that outer space should be preserved for peaceful exploration and use by current and future generations.

"We further emphasize the need to promote and strengthen international cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes and that priority should be accorded to ensuring long-term sustainability of outer space activities," the statement said.

--IANS

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