Dr. Joachim Weber at "Phoenix" on 50 years of the Helsinki Final Act Dr. Joachim Weber at "Phoenix" on 50 years of the Helsinki Final Act

Dr. Joachim Weber began by explaining the context in which the Helsinki Final Act came about. Its signing was the result of a stabilization of international relations that had been ongoing since the 1960s, but which was quickly brought to a halt by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The security expert then summarized the principles of the Final Act: recognition of the territorial changes that took place in Europe during World War II, renunciation of military settlement of interstate conflicts, and respect for human and civil rights. Dr. Weber also emphasized the stabilizing role of the arms control measures agreed upon in the Final Act, which reduced the potential for “surprise attacks” between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Dr. Weber was skeptical about the feasibility of resuming similar treaties between the West and Russia. Referring to Russia's war economy and the increase in Russian air strikes against military and civilian targets in Ukraine, the security expert explained that Russia showed no interest in ending its war of aggression against Ukraine. As a result, a new edition of the Helsinki Final Act in the near future would be unrealistic, according to Dr. Weber.