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Lajcak Unaware of Reasons to Build Up New Europe-wide Security Body
Tuesday 01 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava/Athens, December 1 (TASR) - Slovakia sees no need to set up a new Europe-wide security institution, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak said on Tuesday in response to Russia's proposal to sign a new European Security Agreement.
This proposal from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is among the topics to be discussed at an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) summit that began Tuesday in Athens.
According to Lajcak, who is representing Slovakia at the session of the OSCE's Ministerial Council, specific items included in the draft need to be discussed regardless.
"Our security is guaranteed by our membership in NATO and the European Union. This means we see no reason to create a new pan-European security institution ... However, we're not ruling out discussion or acceptance of some of the constructive and real elements contained in the proposal," the Slovak official told TASR.
In his speech to attendees of the summit, Lajcak pledged full endorsement of further negotiations regarding the future security architecture of Europe (labelled as the 'Corfu Process'). At the same time, he stressed that the discussions should include energy security.
"OSCE has the capacity to become a forum for discussion on energy security. Its singular position lies in the fact that it assembles countries that produce, transit and consume oil and gas," he told TASR.
The Slovak foreign affairs minister will also take part in bilateral meetings with his counterparts from several countries (Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Israel)
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