Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 23 May (BelTA) – The initiative of Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko to start a new large-scale security dialogue is designed to overcome security crisis in the world, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said at the international forum “Eastern Europe: In Search of Security for All” in the Belarusian capital on 23 May, BelTA has learned.

“It is no secret that despite all significant achievements of the Helsinki Process and its subsequent developments, we have failed to come up with single and indivisible security on our continent. This is one of the key reasons for the current situation in Europe and the world, and for the crisis that has affected today’s security architecture,” Vladimir Makei said.

In his words, the question of the crisis resolution is still relevant. It is necessary to develop new approaches in order to complete the current security architecture using universal and time-tested Helsinki principles and taking into consideration the realities of today. “There is no answer to this question yet. “To find it, Belarus’ president initiated a new large-scale international dialogue on security,” the minister noted.

He reminded that many initiatives have attempted to fulfill this task, including some recent initiatives that were not materialized for various reasons. “I am convinced that they should not be viewed as futile. Failures are also important, because they can teach a lesson that can help to start anew,” he believes.

“We know that there is a broad spectrum of opinion and concerns among officials and the expert community of various countries regarding the feasibility of such an ambitious idea. Nevertheless we are convinced that more and more countries will acknowledge the importance of a engaging in dialogue and breaking the deadlock. This, first of all, pertains to countries located in the same geopolitical setting as Belarus,” Vladimir Makei said.

The international forum “Eastern Europe: In Search of Security for All” is underway as part of the Minsk Dialogue initiative in the Belarusian capital on 23-25 May. Minsk Dialogue Forum 2018 will represent the next milestone in the initiative’s development. It will launch a large annual gathering of leading experts from Eastern Europe, the EU, Russia, the United States, and China. The forum will provide a new platform for discussions about the present and the future of the regional and international security.

The conference will be attended by 350 experts and officials from more than 40 countries. Speakers will include OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger, Deputy Assistant of NATO Secretary General James Appathurai, former CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha, Director General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the Council of the Baltic Sea States Maira Mora, and former Chairperson of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Christine Muttonen.