MINSK, 28 May (BelTA) - The actions of the EU demonstrate the commitment to escalating the situation in Eastern Europe, State Secretary of the Belarusian Security Council Aleksandr Volfovich said at the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues in Moscow, BelTA learned.
"In the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the world's largest conflicts continue unabated. Their escalation could lead to irreparable consequences on a global scale. The escalation of risks of involvement of nuclear-weapon states in direct confrontation is a cause for concern," Aleksandr Volfovich emphasized
Despite these negative factors, the process of finding ways to defuse international tension and reduce strategic risks is a positive trend, Aleksandr Volfovich believes. Belarus welcomes the measures being taken to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
"The risks of new provocations and growth of military conflicts remain. In the Eastern European region, we see the unrestrained growth of militaristic sentiments and the aggravation of the situation on Belarus’ western borders," Aleksandr Volfovich said. “Two or three years ago, the construction of fencing structures by Poland and the Baltic states along the borders with Belarus and Russia was the height of absurdity for us. By the way, the West used to oppose this idea for decades. In the worst traditions of the Cold War, Warsaw, Vilnius and Riga have literally separated themselves from us with a metal fence and have completely destroyed all forms of civilized communication.”
Belarus’ Western neighbors went even further this year, Aleksandr Volfovich stressed. They decided to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines. Under the pretext of strengthening the eastern flank of NATO, they are working on plans to install mine barriers along the borders of Belarus and Russia, he noted.
"The European Union is encouraging such a policy, which shows its unwillingness to bring the situation back onto the political-democratic path . On the contrary, it demonstrates its commitment to escalating the situation," he believes.
Some European capitals are promoting the thesis of an inevitable war with Moscow and this is particularly alarming, Aleksandr Volfovich said. Under this pretext, the EU defense strategy is focused exclusively on increasing the EU military capabilities and strengthening its eastern flank. Thus, the EU has reaffirmed it commitment to maintaining its aggressive policy in the eastern direction.
"This is confirmed by concrete figures. In one year alone, European states hold over 400 exercises involving about half a million servicemen. The activities and the nature of the tasks testify to the fact that the West is actually openly preparing for military action against Russia and Belarus. All this convinces us once again of the need to start a global dialogue on a new security architecture at the regional and international levels. An architecture that will be based on the principles of its indivisibility of security, multipolarity, mutual respect, equality of sovereign states and the rule of international law," he said.
According to him, Belarus’ initiative launched in 2023 to develop the Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century is an important element in ensuring this process. The main provisions of the charter fully emphasize the relevance of the agenda of the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues.
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