Western nations use the Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a tool to influence Eastern European and Central Asian countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd November, 2020) Western nations use the Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a tool to influence Eastern European and Central Asian countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Monday.
Speaking at the Russian upper house at a roundtable dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Paris Charter, which laid the foundations for the OSCE, Grushko noted that the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is the Primary tool to pressure non-Western signatories.
"Today, Westerners, constantly preaching a comprehensive approach to security, in fact view the OSCE solely as a tool for putting pressure on countries east of Vienna. They use human rights instruments for this, primarily the ODIHR [Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights]," Grushko said.
The diplomat went on to say that the organization sees its missions, especially in Central Asian countries, as permanent offices, and are in no hurry to hand over their reins to local institutions.
"Today, the loss of any mission is viewed by the West as a loss for the alliance. This is further evidence that the OSCE is being used by our Western partners as a tool to control the eastern space and this, of course, creates additional dividing lines," Grushko pointed out.
Some OSCE missions have been functioning for over 20 years with little strategy in place to develop institutions locally, Grushko said.
Headquartered in Vienna, with its ODIHR in Warsaw, the OSCE oversees compliance with human rights, media freedoms, elections and conflict resolution among the signatories, which include all of Europe and Central Asia, along with the US, Canada and Turkey.
