We are living in the world where the facts "who makes" and "where it is made" are much more important than "what for" issue.
Nowadays the world political scene is divided between
superpowers supported by their allies. In order to punish each other for
having opposite views the sides criticize any step made by the
opponent. Unfortunately, this happens even in case of evident necessity.
It is not the secret that the modern system of international security
is unable to perform all demanded functions any more. It needs to be
reformed. Another question is who and where will decide.
The most likely political platforms for this are the
United Nation Organization and OSCE. But the preparatory stage for any
new decision should become different forums and conferences, such as the
Munich Security Conference and the Moscow International Conference on
Security.
This year the Munich Security Conference took place on
February 16-18. More than 30 heads of state and government and over 100
cabinet ministers from across the globe came together at the forum for
discussions on major international security challenges. As far as the
Baltic States concerns, President of Estonia, as well as Lithuanian and
Latvian ministers of defence did not miss the event because it was of
great importance for the future of their countries and all Europe.
Just another situation developed in March. In Moscow
an annual International Conference on Security was held on April 4-5.
The fight against terrorism and other pressing security challenges were
one the agenda. There is not a single person who is not affected by the
discussed topics.
Many European countries considered it unnecessary to
visit the event. It makes no sense to blame them for this choice. They
have a strong and common view on what is happening in the world. But if
abstract from the current geopolitical situation and confrontation
between Russia and the West, politicians should see such kind of forums
as a chance to find even weak possibilities to make the world safer.
Probably the main reason for not attending the event is in the fact that
politicians forgot how to listen to each other. They forgot that only
discussing controversial issues makes possible to reach a consensus.
Another issue that deserves attention is the list of
participants, which is of great interest to the analysts. According to
the Russia's Defense Ministry, representatives from at least 95
countries, three deputy prime ministers, 30 defense ministers, 15 chiefs
of staff, 10 international organizations and military delegations have
come to participate in the International Conference on Security. They
include defense ministers of India, South Africa, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan,
Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Armenia, Mozambique, Serbia, and
Israel. Thus, almost half of the UN member-states (total number is 193)
sent representatives to the Conference.
It becomes evident that Russia really has powerful
partners and allies that are ready to discuss even difficult questions
and find mutually beneficial solutions. Those who came do not
necessarily agree with Moscow and support its foreign policy but they
clearly understand that unfortunately without Russia it is impossible to
improve the International Security system.
This fact admitted Thomas Greminger, secretary-general
for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. He
stressed that Russia is a key partner in issues of the European
security. But the Baltic States blinded by hatred to Russia ignore
ignored the event thus putting political ambitions higher than common
sense.
It is obvious that Russia is not satisfied with NATO's
actions near its borders. NATO in its turn disputes the lawfulness of
Russia's behavior. Every day confrontation becomes harder and leads to
the arms race. The only way out is to discuss things and find the way
out. The Baltic States as usual lost the possibility to express their
position on key international security issues and be the active actors
in global politics.