The sweetest statement was read at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Poland
Image courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MINSK, 1 December (BelTA) – The Permanent Representative of Belarus to the OSCE, Andrei Dapkiunas, who is attending the 29th OSCE Ministerial Council in the Polish city of Lodz, has read a statement that was to be made at the forum. the deceased Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, BelTA reported from the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.
Vladimir Makei was supposed to lead the Belarusian delegation in the Council, but life had other plans. Nevertheless, the text of his speech was read in the council. BelTA quotes it in full:
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 one in their right mind would blame this person for 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 had been smoldering for decades.
Every disregard for the interests and opinions 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 manifestation of the right to punish and pardon – all this eroded the tradition of equal commitment in Europe. It crushed the spirit of Helsinki.
This is why the political forum for dialogue and respectful debate, the OSCE, is barking.
Let’s not forget that in 1975 no one promised to extend the Helsinki Agreements indefinitely. 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 countries have expressed their position on the 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.
Some people take silencing the voices of those who disagree 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 driven 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.