Refusal to engage in dialogue seen as root cause of most inter-state conflicts

Refusal to engage in dialogue is the root cause of most inter-State conflicts, Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of the Belarusian delegation Yuri Ambrazevich said as he addressed the 30th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council on 30 November, BelTA has learned.

"Minsk hosted an international conference on Eurasian security in October 2023. Many of its participants agreed that the main problem of Europe's security is the dilemma between the principle of indivisibility of security and the principle of the sovereignty of a state to determine its foreign policy,” he noted. “The Belarusian recipe for solving this problem has long been known. Let me remind you of the logic of our reasoning."

"Every state is an external factor in someone's security because of our interconnections. Critical needs and dependencies that threaten our security and development opportunities predetermine the zone of our interest and influence. Acting in this zone, we provide for our primary needs and protect our legitimate interests," Yuri Ambrazevich continued. “Thus, the absence of spheres of interest or influence is a myth. It is a denial of reality. These zones are predetermined for us. This is a given; this is real politics. Not wanting to be in someone else's sphere of influence is your right, but it will not change the opinion of those who see you as a factor in their security."

Depending on the circumstances, geography, history, economy, everyone can be in the zone of interest of one, two or more partners. For some, the zone of interests and influence may include only one neighbor, for others - half of the globe, he noted.

"Thus, every government should understand that its rights, interests and actions affect other players to one degree or another, that their sovereignty and freedoms are in no way absolute and often contradict the legitimate interests of other parties," Yuri Ambrazevich said. “Refusing to take into account the fact that you are in someone's zone of influence, refusing to take into account someone's legitimate interests that are affected by your actions, refusing to engage in dialogue with the affected party in order to find mutually acceptable solutions in case of contradictions is the main cause of most interstate conflicts.”