RIA Novosti: Russian senator calls for new security architecture in Europe

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(RIA Novosti – December 30, 2014) The head of the Russian Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev, has called for the start of a dialogue on forming a European security architecture on new principles, without national egoism, RIA Novosti (part of the state-owned International News Agency Rossiya Segodnya) reported on 30 December.

“It is in our common interests to promptly begin a broad dialogue on freezing the existing military-political status quo in Europe and forming a European security architecture on new principles, already repeatedly proposed by Russia, which do not allow national egoism in changing the internal lines of stability on the continent,” he said.

Commenting on the signing by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of a law altering Ukraine’s non-bloc status, he said that this step in the current environment is probably mostly symbolic in nature. “NATO is not waiting for Ukraine yet,” he said. However, that decision once again confirms the justness of the fears of Crimeans and the residents of Donbass (southeast Ukraine) regarding the real reasons and aims of the so-called “Euromaydan”.

Considering the origins of the Ukrainian tragedy, Ukraine’s non-bloc status was and remains one of the few stabilizing elements, he said. “The external problem of Ukraine does not lie in that, but in systemic attempts over many years to degrade that status by the opportunistic actions of the administration of [former Ukrainian President] Viktor Yushchenko and through pressure on Kiev from NATO,” he said.

A breach of the internal balance between eastern and western Ukraine has already led to a breach of the general balance of security in Europe, he said. “The continuation of this course could lead to a full collapse of the European security system, as a result of which all Europeans without exception would face the most dangerous threats since 1945,” he said.

 

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