MOSCOW. Feb 15 (Interfax) - Poland hopes that Russia will join the Renewed OSCE European Security Dialogue initiated by Warsaw, Polish Foreign Minister and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau said.
"Russia has stressed repeatedly in the past years that the OSCE's potential is not being used fully. We hope that, having analyzed our proposals, Moscow would see more value in them and would decide to constructively participate in the Renewed OSCE European Security Dialogue, which started on February 8 and has gained broad support from the member states," Rau said in an interview with Interfax.
Poland's initiative provides an opportunity for "holding an open and substantive conversation on issues that are key for European stability and confidence," including transparency of military operations, risk reduction, incident prevention, non-military security aspects, and the prevention and settlement of conflicts, he said.
"At the same time, our initiative provides an opportunity for discussing the subject of indivisible security often brought up by Russia. It's not a secret that the West and Russia differently interpret many of these issues. Hence, among the suggestions of the process proposed was setting up a forum to mutually identify such differences in interpretations and to set up mechanisms ensuring the efficient implementation of the OSCE principles in the future. Therefore, we are inviting Russia to actively participate in the new format," he said.
In commenting on Russia's request forwarded to all of the OSCE member states to clarify how they interpret the indivisible security principle, Rau said this principle "has long been present in OSCE discussions."
In line with the Helsinki Final Act, this principle should be interpreted along with the other principles stipulated in this document, including sovereign equality, the right of each state to freely choose defense alliances, the prohibition of the threat or use of force, inviolability of borders, respect for territorial integrity of states, and non-interference in their internal affairs, he said.
"These principles constitute a whole, and none of them should be viewed separately from the others. Hence, indivisible security means that one country cannot threaten another with the use of force, illegally annex another country's territory, or veto its freedom to choose an alliance with another country," he said.
Comprehensive commitment to the principles stipulated in the Helsinki Final Act should serve as the core of a discussion on European security foundations, Rau said.
In discussing confidence building measures within the framework of this dialogue, including military transparency, risk reduction, and incident prevention, Russia could also present its view on a new system of control over conventional weapons in Europe to replace the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), he said.