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MOSCOW, May 25.The Russian side is actively participating in the work on the draft global digital treaty (GDC), and there are many questions regarding its implementation, said the special representative of the Russian President for international cooperation in the field of information security, Director of the Department of International Information Security of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Artur Lyukmanov, in an interview.
“Russia is actively participating in the work on the draft global digital treaty, which is a personal initiative of the UN Secretary General,” he said. 
According to Lyukmanov, “the very idea of such a document – the development of voluntary principles for the development of the digital environment – deserves attention.” “However, there are many questions about its implementation,” he said.
Lyukmanov said that “negotiations on the text (which appeared only in April of this year) began only three years after the announcement.” “This is despite the fact that Antonio Guterres plans to approve it at the Future Summit, which has very little time left,” he explained.
The diplomat considers it obvious that “such a serious document cannot be agreed upon hastily.” Moreover, its content in its current form does not suit either us or the majority of developing countries,” he added.
The Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation in the Field of Information Security believes that “the main flaw of the project is the attempt to equate states with non-governmental organizations in regulating the information and communication space.” 
< br />“We see in this a desire to consolidate the dominance of Western IT corporations to the detriment of the interests of the Global South,” said Lyukmanov.
He emphasized that “for our part, we are determined, together with our partners, to clean out these harmful “bookmarks” from the GDC.” “We will defend our traditional approaches: ensuring equal participation of countries in Internet governance, eliminating the “digital gap” between developed and developing countries,” he said. “At the same time, it is important that the recommendations of the future GDC do not duplicate the work that is already being carried out by relevant UN structures, including the International Telecommunication Union and the mentioned Ad Hoc Committee and the Open-ended Working Group (OWG),” concluded he.
Read the full text of the interview with Arthur Lyukmanov >>
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