In Belgrade at a two-day conference of the Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that the events in Paris, Ankara, Beirut and Mali – as well as the bomb attack on the Russian airplane above the Sinai peninsula – prove that the time for the final countdown has come; the world’s most brutal terrorist network has launched an attack against the civilised world, and within that against Europe.
The Minister explained that if the civilised world is unable to cooperate and is unable to come to an agreement, it will not be able to overcome the challenge posed by the Islamic State; this will be important for generations to come. Should the civilised world lose this fight, we will all become victims, he said.
Mr. Szijjártó pointed out that today Europe is defenceless, “as we have weakened our own defence system; today, Europe is unable to protect its external borders. Therefore I believe that it is of crucial importance that the OSCE – which is an extremely wide security organisation that includes member states from all cultures, religions, trade and economic integrations – holds together this part of the civilised world, and that we join our efforts against terrorism, terror, and within that against the Islamic State”.
He emphasised that “if we cannot soon achieve a striking success against the Islamic State, it will occupy more areas, and more people will have to flee. In that case, Europe will not be able to take the pressure, and it will become destabilised. And this is something we have to avoid”.
According to the Minister, not since the end of World War II has the security situation in Europe has been as bad as it is now. “Today, the threat of terrorism has become part of everyday life in Europe. In addition to that, the continent is being burdened with a migration wave in which six to seven thousand people arrive in the European Union on a daily basis, without us knowing who the majority of them are, and why they are coming”, he added.
The civilised world must do two things, he explained. “First, we have to respect one another: each other’s different cultures and religions. Also, we must not force the values regarded important by us onto others. Secondly, we must increase our efforts against the Islamic State with soldiers, air strikes and training”.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)