MOSCOW, 9 February (BelTA) - Belarus welcomes any constructive proposal aimed at reducing tensions in the world, Belarus' Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik said in his address to the participants of the conference "Collective Security in a New Era: Experience and Prospects of the CSTO" organized by the Valdai International Discussion Club with the support of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow on 9 February, BelTA has learned.
The address was read out by Belarus' Permanent and Plenipotentiary Representative to the CSTO Vyacheslav Remenchik. “As a country that has put forward an initiative to launch a broad international dialogue to overcome interstate contradictions and restore confidence, Belarus welcomes any constructive proposals aimed at reducing tensions, strengthening international and regional security and strategic stability. We look forward to a substantive discussion on the Russian initiatives, both bilaterally and multilaterally. We are ready to take an active part in this process,” said the Belarusian deputy foreign minister.
According to Sergei Aleinik, the Russian draft agreements with the United States and NATO on security guarantees are a serious proposal for a dialogue on building a pan-European security architecture that would benefit all countries in the region and would not infringe on anyone's interests. “In late January, Russia received written responses from Washington and Brussels. I think their content will hardly satisfy Russia. Yet, the fact of the exchange of views and the beginning of dialogue, which should bring the parties' approaches closer and drive them to a common denominator, is important,” he said.
According to the Belarusian deputy foreign minister, the dialogue is important not only between states, but also between the international organizations that ensure security in Eurasia and Europe. “The CSTO is always open to dialogue, which cannot be said about the NATO that continues to evade dialogue with our organization,” he said.
