Turning Myth Into Reality – OpEd

By Boris Pavlishchev

An Euro-Atlantic security community is still a myth, but must become a reality, President Dmitry Medvedev said, speaking at the Scientific-Practical conference of the Russian Council on International Affairs (RCIA) in Moscow. The Russian head of state has again urged Russia’s partners in NATO to provide legal guarantees regarding the missile defence system, warning that any violation of international standards will lead to anarchy.

“Russia is striving towards a world where everybody could feel comfortable and protected. However, the safeguarding of security does not occur by itself. This demands a common effort of all parties concerned, Dmitry Medvedev stressed.”

“We need one another. We have many common problems. The spread of weapons of mass destruction, natural and man-made catastrophes, financial and economic instability, international terrorism, organized crime, and drug trafficking demand a united effort. There’s no doubt that all these threats existed before as well, but during the epoch of globalization they are becoming more and more evident and dangerous.”

Dmitry Medvedev called for the strengthening of trust between states. Besides, he was hopeful that Russia and NATO will be able to reach agreement on the issues of missile defence.

“Of principled importance for us are reliable military –technical and geographical criteria that a missile defence system, once it is deployed, will not be targeted at the Russian nuclear deterrence forces. The latter as well as the missile defence system itself must counter missile threats, which could come from Europe. I stress – from Europe. The point is that nobody has told us so far why we should believe that a new European missile defence system is not aimed against us. On the contrary, they keep saying: “This is just for you. Use this system”. How could you do this? This will mean upsetting nuclear balance.”

Dmitry Medvedev has no doubts that it is possible to reach agreement on missile defence because there are successful examples of such interaction, including, among other things, the signing of the new Russia-US START Treaty, which is based on the principles of equality, parity and also equal and indivisible security of the parties concerned. Equal rights provide for equal responsibility for the safeguarding of security. This is the cornerstone of international law. And outside military interference in the domestic affairs of other countries should be regarded as an attempt to violate international law. “I believe that this is very dangerous”, Dmitry Medvedev stressed.

“The number of those who would like to use weapons as an argument for settling problems has grown in recent times. Ultimatums containing threats of outside armed interference are made at the official, not expert, level. Somebody wants to turn Syria into a modern democratic country as soon as possible. There is somebody else who would like “to do away” with Iran’s nuclear problem. Many problems, including the above-mentioned, are an object of concern for us too. But often detrimental logic and the psychology of war come to surface here. No matter whether one is guided by good intentions while trying to impose his opinion on others and his will on all those who are in disagreement, such intentions are incompatible with the principles of international partnership. The main thing here is that all propaganda attacks that are aimed at either undermining or suppressing the rule of law should be foiled. Otherwise, international relations will find themselves in a state of anarchy and arbitrariness.”

Russia’s President put a particular emphasis on the fact that the use of force, ignoring the UNSC sanctions, is inadmissible. Today it is necessary to search for common ground and to adopt joint decisions that are aimed at the creation of a more stable and fair world order, Dmitry Medvedev stressed.