An international conference on European security opens on Thursday, May 23 in Moscow with Russia hoping to discuss approaches to the new pan-European security architecture in an open dialogue with the European Union and the NATO, RIA Novosti reported.

The two-day conference, titled Military and Political Aspects of European Security, brings together senior defense officials from Russia, the EU, the United States and Canada, as well as independent military and political experts.

“We certainly realize that the conference will not resolve the existing differences, but we need a calm and open dialogue on all issues – pleasant and unpleasant,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said ahead of the event.