MINSK, 20 January (BelTA) - The intensified militarization in various regions of the world, particularly in Europe, against the backdrop of deepening military-political confrontation, significantly heightens the risks of a global armed conflict, Larisa Belskaya, Belarus’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, said during a plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament on 20 January, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She emphasized: “Under these conditions, the importance of professional and mutually respectful dialogue grows ever more crucial. As Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko says: ‘We need dialogue. We cannot look at each other through the sight of a rifle. We must always talk. When people stop talking, war draws closer’.”
“Multilateral mechanisms in the fields of disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control, which have long served as the connective tissue of the international and regional security architecture, are now stagnating, and in some cases, falling apart,” the Belarusian diplomat continued.
She cited examples: “We have all witnessed the dismantling of the INF Treaty and the CFE Treaty. In just two weeks, the Russian-U.S. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) will cease to exist. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty still has not entered into force.”
“The withdrawal of a number of our Western neighbors is undermining the viability of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention,” Larisa Belskaya stated.
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