Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has described the three rules which he believes must be observed if a new European Security Treaty is to be a success.

Speaking in St. Petersburg at an international conference on problems of humanitarian law, Putin said: “The new European security treaty – the idea of which belongs to President Medvedev – is aimed at guaranteeing real and equal security in Europe based on three principles. Firstly, not ensuring one's own security at the expense of someone else's. Secondly, not undertaking action within military alliances or coalitions that would weaken overall security. And thirdly, not expanding military alliances at the expense of other members of the treaty.”

The treaty should become “a legally binding document, providing real guarantees of ensuring equal security,” he said. “We suggest as well the recording in the new document of the basic parameters of arms control.”

He believes a new document “should reflect the fundamental principle of reasonable sufficiency, as well as mechanisms of cooperation in the struggle against the proliferation of mass destruction weapons, drug trafficking, terrorism and organised crime.”