The modern system of international security, formed in the second half of the 20th century, today is a mechanism that cannot cope with the challenges and threats that exist on the planet. Attempts by the United States and its allies to impose their will on the rest of the world have already led to many different conflicts, including in the Eurasian space, directly affecting Belarus. That is why the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security
was forced to abandon the role of observer and take the most active part in the formation of new relations on the continent. This was confirmed by the second Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security, which was held in the Belarusian capital from October 31 to November 1.
The idea of ​​holding such events has been with the Belarusian authorities for a long time, but Minsk began implementing it only after the start of the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine when it became clear that the previous system of international relations was going down the drain. The need to hold a conference on Eurasian security in 2022 was first announced by Alexander Lukashenko. Speaking at the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Yerevan, he proposed uniting the allies’ “think tanks” to ensure peace on the continent.
As a result, the first conference of this level was held in Minsk on October 26-27, 2023, attended by about 120 representatives of 30 countries, CIS bodies, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the CSTO, who discussed “ways to overcome the crisis state of global and regional security systems.” True, Western countries officially ignored the conference, although Minsk and its partners urged them to take the event in the Belarusian capital more than seriously.
The head of the Russian MFA Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Syria Bassam al-Sabbagh, and many other high-ranking officials arrived in Minsk.
The goal of the conference was declared to be “a frank and inclusive discussion about the prospects for Eurasian security in the context of the crisis of the existing world order, chronic military-political contradictions between key players, and the almost complete absence of communications between them.” According to SB BY.
At the same time, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry hoped that the event would allow them to outline “promising contours of future Eurasian security, the future security of our region,” and also discuss the Belarusian initiative to develop a Eurasian Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century.
During the two-day summit, a variety of topics were discussed, from migration issues and sanctions pressure to issues of the future reorganization of the world. In addition, a number of events were held, the main one of which can be considered a high-level session, at which Alexander Lukashenko spoke, as well as the heads of the Foreign Ministries of Hungary, Russia, and Syria. Moreover, it was the speech of the Belarusian leader that outlined the main direction of the conference and reflected the general mood of the forum participants who came to Minsk.
Alexander Lukashenko spoke a lot about the crisis of the existing security model, touched upon the conflict in the Middle East and the situation in Moldova and Georgia, and criticized the EU and the US for their sanctions policy and attempts to “export democracy”, which has already brought the world to the brink of World War III. He also declared the complete failure of the Western development model and even criticized the SCO and BRICS for the fact that these associations have not yet taken any practical steps on the issue of a new world order.
Lukashenko did not ignore the situation in Ukraine, noting that the West already understands the futility of plans to defeat Russia and is ready to begin negotiations. Moreover, the Belarusian leader once again emphasized that Minsk should be a direct participant in the process of settling the Ukrainian conflict.
Alexander Lukashenko expressed the general opinion at the conference that “the unipolar world does not work and could not work, it needs an alternative and responsibility of a different level.” In this regard, he proposed several measures to de-escalate tensions. In particular, he noted that in order to create conditions for dialogue, it is necessary to “withdraw American nuclear weapons from the territory of Eurasian countries,” as well as “develop a new contractual and legal mechanism to create a transparent and understandable control regime for new deadly technologies,” According to Kayhan.
The Belarusian leader also believes that it is necessary to “exclude the practice of applying illegal sanctions without decisions of the UN Security Council and create an effective mechanism of international legal guarantees,” as well as develop an “international legal act on cyber non-aggression.” according to Belta, At the same time, the President of Belarus called on everyone to take an active part in the development of the Eurasian Charter of Multipolarity and Diversity in the 21st Century proposed by Minsk, which would set out the principles for building a “just world order” and reflect the fact of “diversity of civilizations.” In Minsk, as in Moscow, which supported Lukashenko’s idea, they believe that such a document will contribute to the restoration and development of dialogue between the countries of the Eurasian space, using all formats of interstate communication.
The majority of speakers at the conference, including the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, agreed with the proposals of the President of Belarus. According to S. Lavrov, he sees the process of democratization of international relations in the strengthening of multipolarity in the world. At the same time, the Russian minister emphasized that the Eurasian Charter proposed by Minsk could become a document that would set out “the framework principles of the architecture of pan-continental security based on the norms of the UN Charter”, and it itself “will contribute to the harmonization of recommendations on how to protect our common spaces from military and any other threats in the interests of billions of people.”
Later at the summit, a thematic discussion “Brainstorming” on the charter took place, within the framework of which the speakers tried to determine its main directions. The draft document itself is planned to be prepared in the future taking into account the discussions held at the conference, after which it will be presented to the general public.
Statements similar to those made by Lukashenko and Lavrov were also made by the heads of the foreign ministries of Hungary and Syria, as well as representatives of other countries and organizations. Thus, Peter Szijjarto emphasized the importance of sovereignty and independent decision-making by all countries of the world, calling for dialogue to resolve existing problems.
In his opinion, “if we do not cooperate with Eurasia, we will lose a lot.” In turn, Bassam Sabbagh drew attention to the need to create structures “based on interaction and collective solidarity that can overcome the challenges of today’s world,” including by combating attempts to destabilize the situation and interfere in internal affairs. At the same time, he emphasized that he considers Eurasia not only a geographical and political term but also a space where a new world order can be developed.
Similar ideas were voiced by the Secretaries General of the CSTO, SCO, and CIS, as well as the Special Representative of the Chinese Government for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui. According to the latter, international security is currently facing unprecedented challenges and threats, including the risk of escalation and the spread of regional conflicts, a global arms race, and the growth of extremist ideology.
In turn, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who arrived in Minsk, even declared the “death” of international law, calling the biggest problem of modern civilization “lack of shame.” In essence, all the guests of the Belarusian capital were in solidarity with the fact that the era of the unipolar world has come to an end and now the time has come to form a new model of world order.
The events held during the conference ultimately confirmed the fact that the representatives of four dozen countries and a number of international organizations who came to Minsk look at the future of security in the Eurasian space from practically the same positions. As the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Maxim Ryzhenkov, noted while summing up the summit, everyone has great hope that “colleagues, partners, those who do not hear us, listened to the opinion of the collective majority,†since there are no other alternatives today except the desire for dialogue.
At the same time, he expressed the general opinion that the current conference, like all subsequent ones, will “cumulatively†lead to the world becoming safer and calmer.
It remains to be hoped that all the words that were spoken during the Minsk forum will be heard in the West and they will finally realize that the unipolar world is becoming a thing of the past, which means that the time has come to change their position, since otherwise everything could end in a global catastrophe.
