Ministers from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday debated Russia's proposal of setting up new European security architecture, said Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, who revealed that the ministers had "more questions than answers" on the plan.
Stubb, who holds the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE, told a press conference that foreign ministers attending the OSCE annual ministerial meeting had held a "frank discussion" on the proposal over the working luncheon on Thursday.
"It is one of the best discussion about the future of European security, the atmosphere is frank," Stubb told reporters.
Earlier in June this year, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev blamed NATO as the Cold War relic, proposing new European security arrangements to take its place.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union, later responded by agreeing to discuss the proposal within the OSCE as the first step.
Stubb said ministers were "open to the idea," but they had "more questions than answers" on the initiative
Stubb did not reveal the details of Russia's proposal, saying "nothing on the table" during the talks.
Later on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will outline proposals for the new security pact at the meeting.
However, Stubb noted that he himself was "happy with" the current security arrangements with NATO, the EU and the OSCE as the pillars, and the only question was to get "more substance."
In the meantime, local media reported that U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza rejected Russia's proposal.
"There is no need for some new architecture and it is pretty transparent, I think, what that's all about," Bryza told press on the sidelines of the OSCE meeting.
"I think it's about looking for an alternative to NATO which has worked so well. NATO makes Russia uncomfortable," Bryza added.
According to Stubb, the result of the talks about Russia's proposal would be written into a political declaration, to be adopted by all participating delegations at the end of the meeting.
Source:Xinhua
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