Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V. Makei at the 29th OSCE Ministerial Council (December 1, 2022, read by the Permanent Representative of Belarus to the OSCE)
01 December 2022
What do you do when the house is on fire?
The first thing any responsible person would do is try to put out the fire. No sane person would start blaming the accident. When you are in danger, you perform the primary task – putting out the fire.
Today, Europe is on fire. There was no fire this February. It has been smoldering for decades.
Every disregard for the interest and opinion of the other party, every attempt to strengthen one’s own security and well-being at the expense of the security and well-being of others, every arrogant display of the right to punish and pardon – all this eroded the tradition of equal engagement in Europe. It corrodes the spirit of Helsinki.
Because of this, the OSCE as a political forum for dialogue and respectful discussion has barely breathed.
Let’s not forget that in 1975 the Helsinki agreements were not promised eternity. The Helsinki agreements and the agreements that followed them are only as effective as the atmosphere of commitment between states allows. Today’s climate is a total disaster.
How do we stop the fire in Europe?
Many in this organization believe that all you have to do is identify the culprit and then demonize, isolate and punish him. This is a brief description of the West’s approach to Russia and Belarus.
It has manifested itself in preventing the Russian minister from participating in this meeting. We regret this decision because it kills the OSCE. The foreign ministers of the CSTO member states have expressed their position on this issue very clearly in their joint statement last week.
This approach is also reflected in the OSCE Chairman’s decision not to invite the CSTO Secretariat to this meeting as an observer.
Silencing the voice of those with whom one disagrees is seen by some as a sign of the strength of their principles. In fact, the only thing such an action shows is fear of an alternative point of view and weakness.
The practice of “naming and shaming” has made the Permanent Council a perfect platform for propaganda.
But the sad truth is that propaganda cannot restore trust or build new bridges of understanding to remove discord and hostility from Europe.
Only diplomacy can.
True, diplomacy is not needed if you believe in the power of unilateral efforts to corner, crush and strangle the opponent. Human history knows many examples of sword and fire being used to settle differences and disagreements.
However, in the nuclear age, only people with suicidal tendencies can harbor these destructive thoughts.
Because we know that these ideas still tragically appeal to the minds of some leaders, Belarus always keeps its powder dry.
More importantly, however, Belarus believes that we can get off the brink of a looming global military catastrophe.
We can stop the fire of war in Europe.
To do this, we must, firstly, give up political, social and cultural superiority and practice, and secondly, seriously accept the world around us in all its complexity and diversity.
Let’s stop the propaganda and media-oriented bigotry in the Permanent Council and use respectful means to deal with each other.
Let’s not focus on 15 minutes of eloquent speaking, but on down-to-earth and discreet bridge-building.
We are finally putting diplomats to work for the peaceful future of our continent.