Moscow suggested as venue for global security conference

The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, speaking at the Assembly of Council for foreign and defense policy has offered Moscow as venue for the holding of global security conference.

The deeper we enter the 21st century, the more becomes the need to promote common global security. Initially, seizure of foreign ships by Somali pirates seemed like an exotic episode, reminiscent of the period of Daniel Defoe and Robinson Crusoe. Leading world powers have now dispatched war ships to the most dangerous region on earth; piracy problem has become more acute and requires coordinated large scale international effort to deal with. There is equally the problem of terrorism: Until the blowing up of the twin=tower trade center in New York in 2001, nobody though of terrorism as a dangerous global phenomenon and no country was prepared to view the war in the Russian region of Chechnya as being financed and stage managed from abroad. Today however, Al-Qaeda and accomplices’ terror is felt all over the globe.

The American and NATO aggression against Yugoslavia and invasion of Iraq under false pretext and without UN mandate have seriously compromised international peace and stability. NATO war in Afghanistan which has UN blessing, has nevertheless made worst the situation in that country, turning Afghanistan into terrorist recruiting headquarters and worsening the instability in Central Asia. NATO enlargement to Russian borders and the plan by US former administration to deploy elements of American new anti-rocket defense system in Poland and Czech Republic can only destabilize the situation in Europe and in the whole world, triggering new round of costly arms race.

Taking all these and several other matters into consideration, Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev last year proposed thrashing out and adopting fresh legally binding Euro Atlantic security agreement, to replace the Helsinki one adopted in 1975 by 35 European countries, the US and Canada. The world has since then changed radically. Moscow suggests discussing this issue at wider international forum and is ready for such discussion. The offering of Moscow as venue for such a conference by foreign minister Lavrov is continuation of efforts by Russia aimed at enhancing global security. No country should strengthen its security at the expense of other nations.

Victor Yenikeyev