Lavrov voices Russia’s stance on European security
Published: 23 June, 2009, 19:11
TAGS: Breakaway regions, Meeting, Georgia, Russia, Politics, Europe, USA
Western countries have failed to create a sustainable European security system following the end of the Cold War, and it is time for a change. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov voiced his vision of the issue.
Lavrov brought Moscow’s proposals considering the new European security treaty in Vienna at the OSCE annual security overview conference.
Lavrov noted that the initiative of signing a European security treaty was put forward by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev a year ago, “long before the attack on the sleeping city of Tskhinval was made,” referring to Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia last August.
How does Russia see security in Europe?
Lavrov suggested that the basic principles of developing the arms control system should be thoroughly explained in a future European security treaty.
“Our proposal encompasses the principle of non-aggressive defense, and non-deployment of extra combat forces outside the national territories on a permanent basis,” Lavrov said.
“There must be a clear definition of what all of us understand as ‘considerable combat forces’,” the Russian Foreign Minister noted.
According to Lavrov, the future treaty should “set clear-cut rules that would be applied universally to all critical situations.”
The Foreign Minister also stressed that “the impermissibility of solutions from the position of strength” is a top priority.
“Everybody must be forced to respect the negotiating and peace-keeping formats that parties have agreed on.”
“An absolute condition is the protection of the civilian population in the conflict zones, prevention of its isolation and due attention to its humanitarian and socio-economic needs,” Lavrov said.
Provocations against peace-keepers operating on the basis of the agreed mandate “shall be categorically impermissible.”
Russia believes that “the legal formalization of such principles will allow for preventing the use of double standards.”
The other segment, Lavrov said, should be devoted to the mechanisms of cooperation and resistance to new challenges and threats, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, illegal drugs trafficking and other types of trans-border crimes.
“Russia doesn’t eye to undermine NATO”
During his speech, Lavrov pointed out that “Russia is not trying to dictate anything to anyone”.
“We are inviting everybody to negotiate,” he said. “There are no reasons to be afraid of our ideas, of seeing them as latent traps. It took the crisis in the Caucasus for one and all to develop the awareness that something is wrong in Europe, and that the political obligations all of us assumed on a variety of occasions and in various documents are not enough.”
“Our proposals are not aimed at undermining NATO or any other organization working with security issues. We are calling for better coordination and synergy between existing structures,” he added.
“START and AMD should be discussed together”
Lavrov also reaffirmed that reduction of strategic offensive weapons and missile defense are interrelated. “There is a direct link here,” Lavrov explained.
“Missile defense is part of the entire security agenda, and the plans to set up missile defense bases in Eastern Europe directly affect security of both the entire region in general and Russia in particular, and therefore such things need to be agreed upon beforehand in line with the principles of indivisibility of security,” Lavrov said.
Meanwhile, US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly on Monday said the Obama Administration did not support Russia’s idea of dealing with the issue of missile defense and the further reduction of strategic offensive arms in one package.
Returning to the Caucasus issue, Lavrov described as artificial the linkage of a future European security treaty with last year’s events South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
“Quite a few countries try to put forward demands, suggestions that all decisions to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia that were made by the Russian leadership be cancelled. They say that after that they will discuss all the rest. Clearly the linkage is fairly artificial,” Lavrov said before adding: “A likely explanation for this is somebody is reluctant to recognize the truth in public.” Lavrov stressed that, despite this misunderstanding, Russian partners agree on the issue in private talks.
23.06.2009, 18:54
4 comments
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How far away the "Entente Cordial" of 1975 seems that brought about a European Treaty of Sanctity of Borders and of Peace and Friendship amongst Nations and States - dubbed the Helsinki Treaty.The warmongers in the West politically fought hard to reverse that civilised deal amongst equals. Based on President Clinton's say so the CIA launched fresh campaigns based on the then infamous "Perish Troika" to destabilse the whole of Europe. In the East during almost all of the 25 years since 1975 Yugoslavia has been broken up - Albania's social system destroyed - Most States - and the Workers within them - along the Danube are again under the yoke of Capitalism. Belarus and Ukraine are unable to see not only the way forward due to foggy mindsets. They have forgotten the terrible sacrifice their Proletarian Forebears made to stop fascism dead in its tracks but also who their real enemy is. So too until of late in Russia. That "one step back" did a lot of harm to the Workers and their families within all of those States. Is it now time to take the vital "two steps forward" to restore their lost standard of living and human and social rights? It is good to see that the State of Russia today is beginning to re-assert itself and to take those badly needed steps. However internecine strife between and within the States that were within the "Soviet Bloc" - like those between kith and kin within the PLA - only serve to play into the hands of the enemy of the Workers there and within Europe as a whole - let alone within the Middle East. How should the "bogeymen" "the bourgeois minded" amongst us all be weeded out? A sound comprehension of "What's To Be Done" and "Where To Begin" and a good scientific grounding in comprehending the contradictions within Dialectical Materialism again sound like good medicine!! Will all become clearer then for those elected via "Proletarian" [not bourgeois] democratic means to see and do?? What was it that Stalin is famous for - "Theory without Practice and Practice without Theory are ..."?? Or as we say in my neck of the woods "What About The Workers - Mister??? ///snowyone.
Since World War II, all wars and major violence in Europe are related to Russia. In the Yugoslavian wars, Russia provided military, financial and political support to the Serbian government of Slobodan Milosevic. It was with Russian weapons and Russian support that Milosevic troops committed crimes against humanity. In the Moldovan separatist war, it was Russia that supported separatists militarily, politically, and financially. In the Azerbaijani separatist war, it was Russia that supported separatists militarily, politically, and financially. In the Georgian separatist wars (in S. Ossetia and Abkhazia), it was Russia that supported separatists militarily, politically, and financially. In Chechnya, Russia brutally suppressed separatism, killing tens of thousands of Chechen civilians in two major wars. Currently, Russia increased support for separatists in Georgia, Moldova, and Azerbaijan. In the entire North Caucasus, one of the most unstable regions of Europe, Russia ignores basic human rights and does not allow any international observers and journalists into the region. Mr. Lavrov is right. Something is not working in European security. It is Russia that is not working. It is Russia that takes lives, health and freedom of millions, particularly in N. Caucasus and S. Caucasus.
@ZviadKavteli Wrong it was the US, UK, Germany and Middle Eastern countries that supported separatist factions in the former Yugoslavia providing them weapons and drafting in Mercenaries that sparked the civil wars. Serb atrocity stories have been debunked with Serb civilians have been slaughtered by the likes of Muslim warlord Nasir Oric and ethnic cleansing with US assisted Operation Storm in Croatia. And there creation, training and support of Kosovo independence and the KLA who control the supply of Afghan heroin into Europe as well as sex trafficking. The Chechen wars started because Turkey the CIA,MI6, BND, ISI and other countries in 91 started training Chechen militants in military bases in Turkey and camps in Bosnia and setting up links to organised crime and arms smuggling routes in Russia. It got so bad that groups inside Chechnya started fighting each other resulting in a civil war that Russia sent in troops to restore order with give the Chechen leadership, Turkey, Jordan and western intelligence the pretext supply weapons, fighters and supplies, training in urban combat in ISI/CIA camps in Afghanistan in the case of Basayeav, even coordinating and running the war like the Pakistani ISI turning what would have been a small regional conflict into a major war just like they did Yugoslavia. That was just used by western powers and there Arab backers to get a foothold in Russia to try and destabilise the region to annex Dagestan and have the Caspian Basin under US, European control. Human Rights Groups and other aid charities including some NGO’s that is used as a cover for terrorist financing operate freely in Chechnya and in the region Russia even set up its own Human Rights Centre to deal and tackle abuses with the issue and of US to set up monitors for which they declined. Russia provided assistance to Abkhazia and South Ossetia after the Georgian forces sent in troops when the Georgia president annulled there autonomous status and regional representation and language under the slogan “Georgia for the Georgians”. Azerbaijani separatists are Armenians fighting over land given to Azerbaijan by Stalin as part of a British modelled policy of divide and conquer who US and Turkey helped aid Azeri’s fight in the conflict. Armenians get most of there support from Armenian business men abroad from the US. “Currently, Russia increased support for separatists in Georgia, Moldova, and Azerbaijan” It increase support for the two Georgian regions after Georgia with the backing of several EU countries and training by US and weapons supplied by the US and Israel attack the two regions ethnically cleansing South Ossetia for which Georgia received billions of dollars worth of aid and weapons from the EU and US. No it hasn’t increased support for Moldavian and Azerbaijani separatists it was EU and Soros created Twitter revolution with Romanian separatists hold up Romanian and EU flags. Azerbaijani separatists are Armenians fighting over land given to Azerbaijan by Stalin as part of a British modelled policy of divide and conquer who US and Turkey helped aid Azeri’s fight in the conflict. Armenians get most of there support from Armenian business men abroad from the US.