#BalticStates: Missed opportunities in global politics

We are living in a world where the facts of "who makes" and "where it is made" are much more important than the "what for" issue, writes Adomas Abromaitis.

Nowadays, the world's political scene is divided between superpowers supported by their allies. In order to punish each other for having opposite views, the sides criticize any step made by any opponent. Unfortunately, this happens even in the case of evident necessity. It is no secret that the modern system of international security is unable to perform all its demanded functions any longer. It needs to be reformed, and another question is who will reform it and where.

The most likely political platforms for this are the United Nations Organization and OSCE. But the preparatory stage for any new decision should be different forums and conferences, such as the Munich Security Conference and the Moscow International Conference on Security.

This year, the Munich Security Conference took place on 16-18 February. More than 30 heads of state and government and over 100 cabinet ministers from across the globe came together at the forum for discussions on major international security challenges. As far as the Baltic States were concerned, the President of Estonia, as well as Lithuanian and Latvian ministers of defence did not miss the event because it was of great importance for the future of their countries and all Europe.

Another situation developed in March. In Moscow, an annual International Conference on Security was held on 4-5 April. The fight against terrorism and other pressing security challenges were on the agenda. There is not a single person who is not affected by the discussed topics.

Many European countries considered it unnecessary to attend the event. It makes no sense to blame them for this choice. They have a strong and common view on what is happening in the world. But as an abstract from the current geopolitical situation and confrontation between Russia and the West, politicians should see such kind of forums as a chance to find even weak possibilities to make the world safer.

Probably the main reason for not attending the event was the fact that politicians have forgotten how to listen to each other. They forget that only discussing controversial issues makes it possible to reach a consensus.

Another issue that deserves attention is the list of participants, which is of great interest to analysts. According to the Russia's defence ministry, representatives from at least 95 countries, three deputy prime ministers, 30 defense ministers, 15 chiefs of staff, 10 international organizations and military delegations participated in the International Conference on Security. They included the defence ministers of India, South Africa, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Armenia, Mozambique, Serbia, and Israel. Thus, almost half of the UN member-states (the total number is 193) sent representatives to the conference.

It becomes evident that Russia really has powerful partners and allies that are ready to discuss even difficult questions and find mutually beneficial solutions. Those who came do not necessarily agree with Moscow and support its foreign policy but they clearly understand that, unfortunately, without Russia, it is impossible to improve the international security system.

This fact was admitted by Thomas Greminger, secretary-general for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. He stressed that Russia is a key partner in issues of European security. But the Baltic States, blinded by hatred of Russia, ignored the event, thus putting political ambitions before common sense.

It is obvious that Russia is not satisfied with NATO's actions near its borders. NATO in its turn disputes the lawfulness of Russia's behaviour. Every day, the confrontation becomes harder and leads towards an arms race. The only way out is to discuss things and find a way out. The Baltic States, as usual, lost the chance to express their position on key international security issues and be active participants in global politics.

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