Russia's European security draft should be taken seriously: French FM

Russia's proposal for a new Euro-Atlantic security treaty should be taken seriously as the OSEC pushes forward the Corfu Process, said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Tuesday.

Kouchner told a press conference that he had just read the draft document of Russia, which was the main topic during the working lunch of OSCE ministers attending their 17th annul meeting in Athens.

"The question remains whether we can see this proposal as an addition to the Corfu Process. I don't believe it blocks this procedure. It should be regarded as a positive step, not a negative one," Kouchner said during the ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Greece which holds the OSCE Chairmanship this year, launched the Corfu Process in June at an informal meeting held at the Greekisland, aiming at enhancing dialogue on the new threats the international community, especially the European states, faces.

Moscow's blueprint, however, met with wary reception from some western countries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, present at the Athens meeting, is being asked to elaborate the proposal for a new European security structure.

"The important thing is that we speak clearly and openly. This text which is focused on the mechanism of preventing conflicts reflects issues with great interest for Russians who feels hostility by neighbor countries and we should take it seriously," Kouchner stressed through an interpreter.

More than 45 Foreign Affairs ministers and high level representatives of 56 states attend the two day summit with the aim of adopting a Joint Declaration on the future of Security in Europe.

Source: Xinhua