MOSCOW, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Moscow saw the international arms trade treaty (ATT) approved at last year's UN meeting as inappropriate, and has been preparing a revision at the next conference, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
"Hopefully, correct conclusions will be drawn from the negative experience of the July conference and the opinions of all participants in the process will be taken into consideration," the ministry said in an online commentary published on its website.
"We also think that the draft used as the basis for negotiations needs serious adjustment," it said, adding that the draft was submitted just two days before the end of the conference, leaving no time for serious consideration, "not to mention discussion of its text."
This is why Moscow has called for continuation of the work on the document to be completed in March, the ministry said.
"We are convinced it is necessary to mention in the text of the treaty the measures aimed at preventing the arms infiltrating into the grey and black markets," it said.
Moscow also demanded to add the clause into the ATT which would allow arms shipments only to the state structures, thus closing the loopholes which let the arms get into the hands of terrorists and criminals.
"This would render the document more practical," the ministry said.
According to the UN official website, the first UN conference to negotiate the ATT was held on July 2-27, 2012. Since the conference failed to reach an agreement on a treaty text, the UN General Assembly has decided to convene a final conference on the ATT on March 18-28, 2013.
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