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OSCE counterpart in Asia may become tool for preventing conflicts — Russian lawmaker

Russia could announce an initiative of setting up a counterpart to the OSCE in the eastern direction on the basis of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia
Deputy chairman of Russia’s lower house of parliament Nikolay Levichev ITAR-TASS/Alexandra Mudrats
Deputy chairman of Russia’s lower house of parliament Nikolay Levichev
© ITAR-TASS/Alexandra Mudrats

MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. A Just Russia, a moderately left political party, has proposed creating an Asian counterpart to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that will serve as a tool to prevent conflicts in the region.

“Russia could announce an initiative of setting up a counterpart to the OSCE in the eastern direction on the basis of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA),” a party member and deputy chairman of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, Nikolay Levichev, said.

Levichev said such an organization “may become a tool of early prevention of conflicts in the Asia-Pacific Region,” reminding that the OSCE has its roots in the 1973 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

“The events in Ukraine have shown that such a format is technological and in high-demand,” the lawmaker said. “The time of relatively peaceful globalization is gone with the sharp deterioration of the economic crisis and increased geopolitical tensions,” while the West’s bid for domination and confrontation could lead to “a new world war,” he stressed.

The lawmaker said that “understanding and respect” should replace pressure in politics. “I think no one will dare to find a quick answer to a question what the new architecture of the world should be. However, the Eastern vector of our foreign policy is a timely and perspective step in this direction,” he said.

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a multi-national forum with the goal of strengthening cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.

The proposal for convening the CICA was first voiced by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in October 1992. CICA started its activities in March 1993, and now consists of 26 member-states, including China and Russia.