Valdai Club

The session started with a statement to the effect that a whole chain of deplorable mistakes in assessing the situation, one’s interests, partners and actions were made over the past 20 years. Experts believe that correcting these mistakes will make it possible to change history.

The participants qualified as the most negative trend the risk of the world’s division into two blocs – the finance-dominated Western bloc and developing nations that are rejecting the Western monopoly and striving for independent development. They believe this division may only result in confrontation without any winners.

Tensions in relations between key players are visible in Ukraine and Syria and a crisis may still flare up in Central Asia, Moldova and even the Arctic. Countries are increasing military budgets. Thus, the United States has doubled its war budget and China increased it by nine times over the past quarter century. A participant in the session said that given these developments a conflict is bound to break out sooner or later. At the same time, there is an obvious shortage of humanitarian cooperation; the food program is poorly funded and the state of refugees is worsening.

Challenges in the Middle East are testing the existing world order and tempting some countries to repeat the mistakes of colonial and imperial states. The Arab Spring started in Tunisia and spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria, and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe. A participant in the session noted that not all colored revolutions were caused by outside interference. The majority started as peaceful protests because people simply wanted a better life. However, external forces exerted a fairly strong influence by providing protesters with financing and even weapons for more resolute action. The expert explained the upsurge of Islamists in the Middle East by their readiness to resolve problems on the basis of Islam after the collapse of socialist ideas, and this ensured public support.

Speaking about Russia’s role, a participant in the session noted its return to the world arena, which is testified by its participation in the signing of a nuclear agreement with Iran and the inquiry into the use of chemical weapons in Syria. He emphasized that it is impossible to settle conflicts without Russia’s participation.

Experts agreed that today the UN remains the only legitimate mechanism of world order – no other system has yet been built. A participant in the session stated that unilateral actions, such as the NATO operation in Serbia, the war in Iraq and the events in Libya have undermined trust in the West. The UN Security Council took a historical decision not to support US interference in Iraq. This decision considerably enhanced the Security Council’s legitimacy and authority by proving that it is the only source of lawful international action. Thus, UN institutions play an important role in enhancing global stability and resolving global issues. The leaders of those who won World War II managed to create a new world order despite mistrust among them. The UN Charter embraces all fundamental values.

Experts concluded that a historical opportunity exists to create a new multipolar world today. They believe it is necessary to create a well-balanced order based on the participation of all states, including Russia, China, Europe and the United States. Collective security can only be ensured via multilateral partnership that may rest in particular on the Helsinki Accords. It is essential to understand countries will always be competitive. It is necessary to follow strong principles, such as the inviolability of borders and non-interference in foreign affairs. It is important to reconcile conflicting parties and settle conflicts at an early stage. Multilateral talks can make it much easier. It is also essential to restore trust and dialogue as many problems are engendered by a lack of understanding by the sides.