In Russia on February 10 we celebrate Diplomat's Day – a professional holiday for diplomatic officials of our country. February 10 is the date of the earliest mention of “Posólskiy Prikaz”, the predecessor of the contemporary Russian Foreign Ministry, which was responsible for managing relations with foreign states. Its first director was Ivan Viskovatiy, who had been appointed by order of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible.
This day we summarize the results and achievements achieved in the international sphere in the previous year. In this sense I would like to briefly share some of my reflections.
The situation in the world today remains complicated. Several conflicts and crises are in their “active” or “hot” phase. We attribute much of this to the stubborn refusal of some Western countries led by Washington to perceive the objective realities of the multipolar world that is now in the process of formation. Its destructive contribution is undoubtedly made by the US military-industrial complex. American companies that produce weapons of all kinds want to continue working non-stop and cannot allow their products to remain in warehouses for a long time. That is why they have always induced and induce Washington to unleash wars in all corners of the world.
In this situation, diplomacy must play a key role to prevent more countries and regions from being dragged into war and to help the West accept the multipolarity of today's world. It is only with diplomacy that we can convince our counterparts to stop using the logic and mentality of the Cold War and stop living from the past, from the unipolar moment in the history of planet Earth that lasted a short time after the fall of the USSR.
It is important to remember that, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, talks were launched on the parameters of the new European security architecture. At that time, senior Russian leaders, in conversations with leaders of Western countries, received concrete guarantees about the non-expansion of NATO to the East (the records of those negotiations are in our archives and in Western ones). But the West did not keep its promises. There were three waves of Alliance expansion; NATO's military machine and war infrastructure continues to approach our borders. Ukraine and Georgia, countries that have borders with Russia, already have candidate status for this military bloc. This constitutes a direct threat to Russia's security.
It is only with diplomacy that we can convince our counterparts to stop using Cold War logic and mentality and stop living in the past.
I want to emphasize that the West carried out NATO's expansion in severe violation of the so-called OSCE Istanbul Document (1990) which stipulates that all European states should not strengthen their own security at the expense of that of others (in this case, at expense of Russia's security). Furthermore, they began the military colonization of Ukraine. Russia patiently raised its concerns with the West. In December 2021 we sent our proposals to NATO and Washington. We proposed starting dialogue to analyze the situation and threats to Russia. Back then, we could have solved it without resorting to force. But Western capitals rejected it and continued to ignore Russia's legitimate security concerns. These circumstances forced Russia to begin, in strict compliance with its right to defend itself stipulated in the UN Charter, the special military operation in Ukraine.
After the start of the operation, Russian diplomacy found itself facing new and multiple challenges. Western countries use all institutes of the current global financial system for anti-Russian purposes. They use every tool at their disposal to put pressure on Russia and its ordinary citizens, as well as on our friends and allies. Even about Colombia! The West is fiercely opposed to the objective process of the transformation of the old world order in which it felt very good and comfortable. In terms of the stages of acceptance of change (by Kübler-Ross), the Western world is now somewhere between rejection and anger. It remains to go through three more phases: negotiation, sadness and, finally, acceptance.
All of the above-mentioned circumstances have modified the set of tasks solved by Russia's diplomatic missions, they have expanded it. But we consider these shifts as points of growth and transformation. The Russian diplomatic service is ready to defend our national interests in the face of today's challenges.
It is worth remembering that any conflict ends with some peaceful solution. I am sure that at some point we will give a diplomatic resolution to this crisis, taking into account, of course, the realities of the current stage.
A new multipolar world order is taking shape before our eyes. Fairer. I hope this world better reflects the cultural and civilizational diversity of our planet. The global majority representing 85% of the Earth's population advocates for a more equitable distribution of global goods and for a coherent democratization of international life. On the other hand, a small group of Western countries led by the US seeks to slow the natural course of events with the use of neocolonial methods and maintain their diminishing dominance. Washington has not invented anything better than imposing a neoliberal economic model without taking into account the civilizational diversity and historical traditions of States.
The series of joint NATO exercises, including scenarios of the use of nuclear weapons against the territory of the Russian Federation, is unprecedented since the end of the Cold War. The declared objective of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia finally blinded the irresponsible politicians obsessed with their impunity and who lost the elementary instinct of self-preservation.
Attempts to extend the Alliance's area of influence to the entire Eastern Hemisphere, under the cunning slogan of “indivisibility of security in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific region” became a new dangerous manifestation of NATO expansionism.
This aggressive line of the Western minority continues to cause serious crises in international relations. The risks of a global conflict are growing. But there is a way out of this situation. To begin with, everyone has to realize their responsibility for the future of the world and put peaceful methods of dispute resolution above all.
NIKOLAY TAVDUMADZE
Russian Ambassador to Colombia
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