Opinions & Interviews

Andreichenko: With INF over, the world has come to very dangerous point

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MINSK, 24 September (BelTA) - The world has come to a very dangerous point with the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko said at the 4th Meeting of Speakers of the Eurasian Countries' Parliaments entitled as “Greater Eurasia: Dialogue. Trust. Partnership” in Nur-Sultan on 24 September, BelTA learned from the press service of the House of Representatives.

Vladimir Andreichenko expressed concern that “the policy of intimidation, national selfishness, disregard for the interests of entire countries and peoples are once again coming to the forefront in the name of preserving the dominant position of individual states”.

“Most surprisingly, it happens almost on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the end of the most destructive war in the history of mankind. The entire modern system of international security was built on the lessons of this tragedy. If the system has stopped working, it is a very alarming signal for the entire world community,” the speaker said.

“Of course, it is very difficult to break the vicious circle of mutual accusations. To do this, we need a strong political will of the world's leading players,” he said. “There is no other alternative. To think that a country, even a very strong one, is capable of surviving on its own today, with the rest of the countries simply joining one of the existing centers of power is a big mistake.”

Belarus is a regular participant in the meeting, as it is firmly convinced that the international community should focus on issues with a clear unifying component. “The special value of such a format of communication is that parliamentary diplomacy allows citizens of our countries not to be left aside from the discussion of issues that deeply affect their vital interests,” said Vladimir Andreichenko.

The Minsk Dialogue Forum has become an important platform for open discussion on the present and future of European security. In early October, it will be held under the motto "European Security: Stepping Back from the Brink".

“We view each of these events as another link in the chain of interrelated steps aimed for the common goal of building a new, better world,” said the chairman of the House of Representatives.

As BelTA reported earlier, Vladimir Andreichenko is attending the 4th Meeting of Speakers of the Eurasian Countries' Parliaments in Nur-Sultan on 23-24 September. On the sidelines of the forum he met with Chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly George Tsereteli to discuss the activity of the organization.

Vladimir Andreichenko also met with Chairman of the National Council of Slovakia Andrej Danko. “The parties stated that the Belarus-Slovakia parliamentary relations have been developing in a constructive manner. The parties also stressed the need to strengthen cooperation in the international arena and intensify the activities of the friendship groups established in the parliaments of the two countries for the implementation of the plans set before,” the press service said.

On 23 September, Vladimir Andreichenko met with Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova Zinaida Greceanii. “She noted that the two countries and MPs have many themes for discussion. This is largely thanks to the two presidents. The parliaments, in turn, need to use their potential more actively for this purpose. The friendship groups set in the parliaments of the two countries need to play an important role here,” the press service said.

The speakers of the parliaments need to continue vibrant cooperation. In this respect Zinaida Greceanii invited the chairman of the House of Representatives to pay an official visit to Moldova. Vladimir Andreichenko thanked her for the invitation and reaffirmed the similar invitation sent earlier to the speaker of Moldova’s parliament. He also expressed gratitude for active support and cooperation in international parliamentary organizations.

The parties talked over assistance to step up trade and economic relations, interregional cooperation and twin-town relations, and also a more active participation of businessmen and representatives of diasporas in bilateral relations.

On the same day Vladimir Andreichenko held working meetings with the chairman of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, the vice speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, and the chairperson of the State Duma of Russia to discuss bilateral and multilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation.

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