Фото: МИД
Belarus’s representative to the OSCE, Andrei Dapkiunas, resorted to nuclear rhetoric during his speech on Thursday at the organization’s Annual Security Review Conference.
In line with instructions from the Foreign Ministry, he began his remarks by referring to the incident involving a bus in Russia’s Bryansk Region. According to him, a civilian bus carrying 44 Belarusian citizens, including children, to the resort city of Gelendzhik was attacked by “a strike drone of Ukrainian origin.”
“The Belarusian delegation strongly condemns the attack on a bus carrying children. We regard it as an act of terrorism against civilians. Belarus expects an immediate and responsible investigation into this tragedy,” he said.
Dapkiunas also called on OSCE member states to “give a principled assessment of what happened and stop fuelling an already explosive situation in the region by flooding it with weapons and making provocative statements.”
He reaffirmed Minsk’s position that the conflict in Ukraine should be resolved as soon as possible through peaceful diplomatic means. Dapkiunas chose to support this argument by invoking nuclear issues.
“Dear colleagues, your calculations that you can prevail by cultivating an artificial image of the enemy, relying on the total demonisation of your opponent and casually attaching labels of hybrid threats — all of this leads nowhere.
We regret hearing the repeated, almost identical incantations from Western delegations about the need for a just peace in Ukraine. The attribute ‘just’ is precisely what destroys the possibility of achieving real peace in Ukraine. Let us try to stop using empty words that mean nothing.
We regret hearing your futile hopes for Russia’s exhaustion and defeat, hearing absurd fantasies about reparations and tribunals. Do you seriously believe in the possibility of victory in a proxy war against a nuclear superpower? You are simply playing with matches around a barrel of gasoline. We believe your approach is fundamentally detached from reality. We sincerely urge our respected Western colleagues to seriously reflect on the nature and specifics of a military conflict involving nuclear powers. A conflict that may become inevitable if this thoughtless war of attrition is not abandoned,” he said.
Dapkiunas also addressed delegations that had spoken about Belarus. His message was that Minsk should be engaged in dialogue without preconditions.
“If you truly have genuine civic courage, try talking to Belarus outside this large hall. Try speaking directly with Belarus, without conditions, blackmail or threats. You cannot even imagine how much can be achieved through simple conversation based on respect for the right of your interlocutor, even if an opponent, to be heard,” Dapkiunas concluded.