System Unit: Moscow is ready to discuss Eurasian security with the EU

The Europeans are expected in Moscow to discuss security issues, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. However, for this, the West needs to change its confrontational approach. At the same time, there are countries that share Russia's position. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will attend the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security. In addition, negotiations are currently underway with China and the ASEAN countries. Against this background, Moscow and Minsk intend to attract more states to begin work on the text of the future Eurasian Charter on Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century. How the new security system is being built in the region is described in the Izvestia article.

Will Russia and Europe be able to work together on Eurasian security

Russia is ready to cooperate with Europe in building a Eurasian security system. Alexander Trofimov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia about this.

— In principle, we perceive Europe as a part of Eurasia and are ready to cooperate. And our leadership said that we were leaving the door open (to build a security architecture in Eurasia. — Ed.), — said the diplomat.

The need to create a new security structure on the Eurasian continent was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry in June 2024. In this vein, Russia, together with Belarus, is promoting the idea proposed by Minsk of developing a Eurasian Charter on Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st century. The key idea is equal and indivisible security, as well as the absence of a block approach.

— They are of interest (individual European countries. — Ed.) they do, of course. They're looking at what our initiative is," says Trofimov. — If European countries want to participate, please let them come, but they must change their unconstructive attitude and confrontational rhetoric, interact on a mutually respectful basis, take into account Russia's interests, and we will take them into account.

Hungary has traditionally shown interest in the first place. Peter Szijjarto will once again take part in the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security, which can be considered an alternative to the Munich Conference. One of the working sessions will be devoted to discussions on the charter.

— The Hungarian government supports this idea. But most Western countries think quite differently. Hungary has been taking this step from time to time, and by the way, it is very practical and logical. But politically, this can have serious consequences for Budapest," Hungarian political analyst Gabor Stier told Izvestia.

He stressed that stability around Ukraine is impossible without building Eurasian security. Brussels thinks that it is strengthening its security as opposed to Moscow, whereas in fact Europe will be safe only through dialogue with Russia. This is also understood in another European NATO country, Slovakia, which, like Hungary, demonstrates a balanced position towards its neighbors on the continent. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Bratislava is also interested in building a Eurasian security architecture.

Global ASEAN: Russia opens up new opportunities for cooperation with the region

The Russian Federation introduced its partners to the prospects of the Northern Sea Route and proposed new solutions in the nuclear field.

Moscow and Minsk are trying to involve as many countries as possible. At the beginning of the year, it became known that Russia had sent a proposal to the states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to join the future Eurasian Charter.

— We have a dialogue with them on this topic both within the framework of ASEAN and with individual countries, — said Trofimov. — We are now explaining our position, we understand how and what we can discuss with other countries.

In addition, there is coordination of positions with China, which has its own vision of global security, the diplomat noted. Back in July 2024, Beijing confirmed that it would participate in the work on the proposed Minsk Charter.

— We proceed from the fact that the situation will inevitably change. Just saying that there will be a multipolar world is not enough. It is necessary to define certain propositions in this future world order. In this regard, the Minsk meeting will certainly be very, very important. The most important thing, as usual, will remain behind the scenes. The task is to show that there are alternative versions of the world order," Nikolai Mezhevich, an expert at the Valdai Club and head of the Center for Belarusian Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.

When questions about the charter come in, we explain together with the Belarusians and the Chinese what the main task is and how we see it, noted Alexander Trofimov.

"We will try to attract more like—minded people to start working on the text, so that every country that agrees or wants to work on the text would give some suggestions," the diplomat said.

What to expect from the III Minsk Security Conference

The Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security will be held for the third time and will bring together delegations from more than 40 countries and seven international organizations. The Russian side will once again be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In addition to Peter Szijjarto, who is already a regular, North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Song-hee, Myanmar's allied Foreign Minister Tan Swe, as well as China's new special envoy for Eurasian Affairs Sun Linjiang will take part in the discussions.

By the way, Vladimir Putin received Tsoi in the Kremlin the day before. Sergey Lavrov also met with the head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry. It is likely that the parties discussed the upcoming conference. Thus, Lavrov and Choi compared their vision of security in the region, including on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

The CSTO and SCO Secretaries General will visit the site. Thus, representatives of both the European and Asian parts of the region will be at the conference, which makes the upcoming discussions really constructive. The ironic slogan "The Global World Order and the puzzle of Eurasian Security" was chosen as the title theme of the conference, thereby only emphasizing concern about the current processes.

Transatlantic case: Russia is ready for dialogue with American parliamentarians

Kirill Dmitriev, the Special Representative of the President of Russia, announced a meeting of US congressmen with State Duma deputies.

The participants in the discussions will analyze key trends in international relations and try to develop approaches to the formation of a new security architecture. Special attention will be paid to the dialogue between the West and the East, as well as measures to prevent confrontation, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said.

It is interesting to note that the issues at the conference will be discussed the same, but the emphasis is likely to change. A year ago, speaking at the plenary session, Sergey Lavrov said that the aggressive activities of the United States and its allies threaten the security of the entire Eurasian continent and contribute to the growing risks of its fragmentation. Now, with the return of Donald Trump, the leading role in destabilization has been assumed exclusively by the European allies of the United States. While Moscow and Washington, albeit with great reservations, continue their dialogue to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, Brussels has engaged in aggressive militarization and is not even trying to make contact.

— If you look at what European countries mostly say, they are building European security, but without Russia, without Belarus, even against it. And they also say that it is NATO—centric, and NATO is also the United States, and the United States is no longer Eurasia. In other words, they are still committed to the Euro-Atlantic vector. As for the principle of equal and indivisible security, we are ready to explore it on the basis of reciprocity. They are building it against us, that is, they divide security into their own and ours," Trofimov concluded.

Last time, quite a large number of experts, including from Europe, gathered in Minsk. And not only from Hungary, for example, but also from France or Norway. Some of them admitted that they decided to participate, despite the risks associated with such visits, implying an unfavorable political background. Which countries will be represented this time will become clear in the very near future. Representatives of Serbia and Slovakia may join the discussions, says Nikolai Mezhevich. Last time Belgrade, for example, was represented by former Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vulin.

However, it is worth considering the fact that many representatives of both the political and expert community have flocked to the ASEAN summit in Malaysia and the upcoming APEC forum in South Korea these days. In this regard, possible statements about the lack of interest in the Minsk Security Conference, especially in the Western press, may be biased.