A proposal made by Russian Foreign Minister Evgeni Primakov in Cairo, Egypt, on 31 October 1997, calling on countries in the Middle East to adopt a "code of conduct" in security matters that would assist in promoting a comprehensive settlement. Among the principles laid out in the proposal were: acceptance that a country's security cannot neither be obtained solely by military means, nor come at the expense of other countries' security; a settlement on Middle East security must also include countries such as Iran, Iraq and Turkey; adoption of international law as "the basis for security and stability"; a commitment to combat terrorism and extremism; nuclear disarmament and reduction of military budgets; and cooperation on economic and humanitarian issues, including resolution of the refugee issue.