Hot Topic № 11, 2024. «Western Countries Want to Further Escalate International Relations»: From the Speech of Amb. Gennady Gatilov in Geneva

Hot Topic

On November 20, PIR Center conducted the presentation of Security Index Yearbook: Global Edition. The event took place at the UN Office in Geneva and was co-organized with the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva. The presentation was held in the format of a roundtable on the topic: “Security Index in a New World: What Future for Arms Control?”

We are pleased to share the opening remarks by Amb. Gennady Gatilov, Russian Permanent Representative at the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva.

We are glad to welcome you at the Round table discussion, organized by the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation in Geneva in cooperation with PIR Center, a leading Russian non-governmental organization that specializes in the study of nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament, as well as countering challenges and threats to international security. As you well know, this event is timed to the release of the first volume of a new Security Index Yearbook by PIR Center.

I think there is no need to describe in detail the current state of affairs in the field of international security. We all observe every day how pre-existing conflicts are developing in an escalating spiral. Zones of tension are expanding. New crises are threatening to break out. And the most dangerous thing is a confrontation that involves States with military nuclear capabilities, which is fraught with a direct military clash between Nuclear Weapon States with truly catastrophic consequences. The latest evidence of that is a recent attack with a long-range American ATACMS missiles. This is a clear signal that Western countries want to further escalate international relations.

We proceed from the understanding that the degradation of the international situation is primarily caused by a sharp escalation of a struggle over the prospective model of the world order. The system of international treaties in the sphere of arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation has been dealt a crushing blow by a narrow group of countries that are trying to resist the irreversible and inevitable process of transition to a multipolar world and thus desperately and at all costs want to ensure their political and military superiority.

Moreover, it is clear that such crises also directly affect the competent international institutions.

In particular, we have to note the attempts made by a number of States to politicize to the extreme and even block the work of the UN disarmament machinery as well as other relevant international fora. An indicative example of this are results of the UNGA First Committee that has recently concluded its work. The First Committee session was characterized by an unprecedented increase in the number of resolutions and their provisions put to vote. That testifies to growing contradictions among UN Member States on many issues on the disarmament agenda. Presenting of initiatives, added value of which raises serious doubts, becomes almost a normal practice at the First Committee. It is clear that attempts to put into practice such deliberately nonconsensual UNGA decisions only contribute to the disunity of the international community and distance us from solving the most pressing problems.

What is even more alarming is the almost complete lack of intention of States to conduct political and diplomatic work in order to de-escalate and resolve interstate tensions. We are absolutely convinced that such work must be carried out only on the basis of equality, mutual respect for the fundamental interests of parties and the principle of the indivisibility of security. Unfortunately, many of our partners, primarily from Western countries, are not ready for this yet.

In such circumstances, we believe that the first step in reducing the conflict potential is to search for and eliminate the root causes of fundamental contradictions. In this regard, specialized research and political science entities from various countries, such as PIR Center, can and must play an important role. Such think-tanks have the necessary potential to study the historical causes of modern conflict, they are able to provide an independent assessment of the current geopolitical realities. In addition, they have an opportunity to bring views of individual countries on the most topical issues to a wide audience when intergovernmental cooperation, through no fault of Russia, is virtually paralyzed. And by this, they can help to find compromise solutions.

The events and publications of PIR Center, which presents a view largely alternative to the Western narrative, acquaint the international community with Russian experts’ approaches and assessments of the most acute issues on the global disarmament agenda. And this, in turn, creates a basis for further international dialogue.

Today, we are pleased to welcome PIR Center Round Table in the Palais des Nations, and we hope that such events will become a good tradition.

Key words: Global Security; Security Index Yearbook; United Nations

RUF, SIY

F4/SOR – 24/11/21