OSCE Foreign Ministers' Council in Malta couldn’t do without some scandals and provocations
We don't see our own problems, we put pressure on those who are undesirable, the only problem is Ukraine. These are the postulates that guided the participants of the OSCE Foreign Ministers' Council in Malta. Representatives of 57 member states of the organization took part in it. Minsk once again demonstrated its readiness for meaningful and equal interaction. During the event, Belarus co-authored a number of joint statements of like-minded states, including on the issue of combating discrimination against representatives of religions, the importance of careful treatment of military and historical memorials and countering radicalization leading to terrorism and extremism.
But most of the "speakers" stuck to the rhetoric honed day after day, not noticing anything except the Ukrainian conflict. By the way, even in this case they were only interested in the consequences. The reasons were ignored in a standard manner. Details of the diplomatic meeting in Malta.
The OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers completed its work in Malta. It was not without scandals and provocations. The forum on the security landscape in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian regions took place against the backdrop of a growing escalation of the military-political situation. And if rain is usually a good sign, even in sunny Malta in December, then here the sudden downpour that covered Valletta at the opening of the conference rather served as a symbol of the fact that not everyone would be heard.
The desire of a group of Western countries to impose their vision of the world on everyone - a place for constructive dialogue and cooperation - did not give in. They stuck to the rhetoric honed day after day, without breaking away from the prescribed texts. A master class in freedom of speech from the head of the German Foreign Ministry. All answers to journalists' questions were strictly according to the cheat sheet.
The first day was accompanied by speeches by the heads of delegations. Belarus was represented at the event by Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Ambrazevich.
Despite the bias of some international institutions, Belarus continues to knock on all doors with peace proposals.
Yuri Ambrazevich, Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus:
"Being in this hall, Belarus, like Soviet diplomats decades ago, is pursuing one goal that is clear to everyone. We, like everyone else, are striving to provide our people and our allies with acceptable and sustainable security guarantees. Yes, we are ready to sit down at the negotiating table even tomorrow, because we firmly believe that ten years of dialogue are better than a few days of war."
Not everyone was ready for dialogue. Before the speech of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, there was an anti-advertising pause for "show" diplomacy. Among the actors in the pathetic performance were representatives of Ukraine, Latvia, and Estonia.
Sergey Lavrov emphasized in his speech that the United States and its allies "threw into the trash" international agreements in the field of security.
Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister:
"We don't want to attack anyone at all. Now the United States has attacked us with the hands of the Ukrainian regime, is waging a war against us with the forces of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, is arming them, is helping them to shell our territory with long-range weapons, and is directly involved in preparing such shelling. This is not our choice. And Putin has repeatedly said that we have been left with no other choice but to start the special military operation."
After all the announced speeches, we managed to talk to the head of the Belarusian delegation and ask questions of interest.
Yuri Ambrazevich, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus:
"If we are pessimistic about the prospects, and there are many reasons for this, then the fiftieth anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act next year may mark the end of the OSCE content. In this vein, of course, we are for everything to be preserved. It is very important for us to be in this atmosphere, to have the opportunity to talk with our Western partners. We have a clear, understandable task, which has been repeatedly emphasized by the head of state, that we need to maintain relations with our neighbors and, if possible, develop them, primarily in the trade and economic sphere. We are ready to cooperate and interact with them as much as they are ready for it."