MUNICH, July 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday described as a mistake the attempts to detect "foul play" in Russia's proposals for a new European security treaty.
Medvedev proposed a new legally binding European security pact in Berlin last June, but so far his initiative has been met with caution by the West.
"Those who see some kind of foul play behind these proposals or an attempt to create an anti-NATO pact are certainly mistaken because I said from the very beginning, when I presented this idea in Berlin last year, that it should be a document that would bind all Euro-Atlantic structures, including NATO, the EU, the CIS, the CSTO, and certainly the OSCE," Medvedev said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He said all sides should develop a common approach to European security rather than pursue solely their own national security interests.
"If we approach this document in this manner, we will certainly achieve success," he said.
The Russian president also dismissed arguments that no new security arrangements were needed, pointing to the number of simmering regional conflicts.
"I would like to stress that we do not agree with this point of view because European security is currently not being ensured to the full extent and we have a large number of supporting examples, including recent ones, and from the last year, rather dramatic examples," Medvedev said.
Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war last August, which began when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia in a bid to bring it back under central control. The West supported Tbilisi's position during and after the conflict, and labeled Russia's actions "disproportionate."
