Valdai Club

The CTBT is perhaps one of the greatest illustrations of what we can achieve through multilateralism in international peace and security. By putting an end to nuclear explosions, the CTBT places critical restraints on the development of nuclear weapons, and will play a key role in any future nuclear disarmament framework.

We are witnessing the process of reshaping global landscape which was considered to be cast in stone even a decade ago. Apparent dominance of the only hegemon or “the lonely superpower” is fading. It is replaced by a polycentric world, with its inherent fragmentation and dynamic instability. This is an objective trend that can be tried to be denied, but it is impossible to stop or reverse it.

Trust and good faith continue to be at issue especially in EU-Russia, US-China, and Middle East relations. The world navigates multiple transitions at various levels. Expecting too much too soon invites allegations of diminishing returns on the above listed achievements and the creation of roadblocks. These amplify risks rather than resolve imbalances and grievances.

We have to re-evaluate the picture of the world that has appeared in the last five years, which implies that Russia’s interactions with Europe are associated with substantive restrictions, writes Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, for valdaiclub.com. Because of them, we are much more vulnerable in the face of a global crisis than we could be. If we cannot influence the termination of trade wars, do we not have to prepare for difficult times by eliminating the “weak points” and excessive restrictions?

How can we overcome sanctions and related conflicts? Very difficult, but I would argue that all sides would have to try to find compromises or contribute to finding compromises in order to get out of this impasse. We really urgently need to get back to and revive multilateralism.

It is only up to the US and Russia, perhaps including China, to reach an agreement to launch a “New INF Treaty”. A new US administration could be ready to re-negotiate this treaty after the forthcoming presidential elections. Relating to the JCPOA, the EU together with Russia and China could re-negotiate and elaborate an adapted proposal with Iran which could lead to an updated agreement with the new US administration.

Multilateralism today is under threat. In the past few years, there have been serious violations of fundamental principles of international law. Trust is broken – at so many levels. There is little constructive dialogue. Agreements have not been kept. In the process, ladders have been kicked away that make it harder to climb down, writes Thomas Greminger, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

On May 21, the Valdai Club was planning to hold in Vienna its sixth European conference, in partnership with a number of respected Austrian organizations. It was supposed to feature leading Russian and European, including Austrian, experts. However, the Austrian co-organizers cancelled their participation on short notice. In his welcome speech at the Russian Embassy in Austria, Andrey Bystritskiy, the Valdai Club Chairman, said that this must have been caused by the recent domestic developments. “The important thing is not the problems that arise, but our attitude to them,” he said. The conference will take place in another venue (Grand Hotel Wien) and dialogue between Russia and Austria will continue against all the odds.

The crisis in Russian-European relations in the past few years has largely been caused by a conflict in basic values. The values that Europe has been increasingly accepting were not to Russia’s liking and vice versa. Moreover, the development of European integration caused distortions in its decision-making system, making Europe a somewhat uncomfortable partner. The anti-Nazi parties that came to power in the leading EU countries after World War II gradually developed into rigid elites and bureaucracy.