VIENNA, December 14. /TASS/. Some member countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe increasingly often hold anti-Russian events under its auspices, even though they don’t gain approval from all the group’s participating nations as is required by its rules, said Alexander Volgaryov, Russia's deputy envoy to the OSCE.
"At the suggestion of unscrupulous helmsmen, violations of the rules of procedure and the holding of events <...> without consultation with all participating states have become the norm. Another trend that is gaining momentum is the organization of certain thematic ‘international conferences’ under the auspices of OSCE units in the Hofburg (a palace in Vienna that houses the OSCE headquarters - TASS). Participants from the ‘right’ countries are invited there to voice the anti-Russian views that are desired by the organizers. At the same time, there are attempts to pass off these gatherings as OSCE events that allegedly enjoy the support of all participating states," he said at a meeting of the organization's Permanent Council.
According to the Russian diplomat, the purpose of such events is to maintain an anti-Russian narrative, "create the semblance of Russia's isolation" on the international stage and make "attempts to turn the OSCE into a pro-Ukrainian forum." Volgaryov said "countries to the west of Vienna" use such approaches to cover up gross human rights violations in their own jurisdictions.