Lavrov proposes summit on collective European security
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has proposed a pan-European summit to review a plan to create a "reliable collective" security system in Europe, which was seriously shaken after Kosovo’s unilateral secession in February
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, September 29, 2008
Lavrov said Saturday the existing architecture of European security "did not pass the strength test in recent events," and told the UN General Assembly that a "pan-European summit" should take "a comprehensive look at security problems."
Lavrov did not say when or where this summit would be held but said its task would be to weigh a proposal made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Berlin last June to develop "a treaty on European Security, a kind of 'Helsinki-2'."
The Helsinki accords were signed by 35 states in the Finnish capital in 1975 and provided for securing European borders.
The Helsinki Final Act was seriously breached by Kosovo's unilateral secession and its subsequent recognition.
Lavrov said the proposed treaty aimed to "create a reliable collective system that would ensure equal security for all states."
"It is a process involving all participants who would reaffirm their commitment to fundamental principles of international law, such as the non-use of force and peaceful settlement of disputes, sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs, and inadmissibility of strengthening one's own security by infringing upon the security of others," he added.
