WARSAW, September 30. /TASS/. The discussions during the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting were politicized, Russia’s delegation deputy head Grigori Lukyantsev said at the closing of the meeting.
"The discussion of the human dimension implementation at the Warsaw meeting was subject to severe politicization. We can but express our disappointment with the position of some member states that persist in denying the fact that the irresponsible and aggressive policy of the West towards other countries is the cause of the serious problems in the OSCE area," Lukyantsev noted.
"Russia has repeatedly called on its Western partners to abandon the futile policy of using force to achieve their geopolitical goals and meddling in sovereign states’ domestic matters," the Russian representative added emphasizing that the current domestic crisis in Ukraine is clear proof of this policy’s negative consequences. "Western countries have not only backed the violent coup d'·tat in Ukraine in February 2014 but they also became involved in it," he said.
"After grabbing the power, Ukrainian opposition launched a campaign to persecute and exterminate dissenters, and made an illegal decision to launch punitive operations against civilians in Donbass who had voiced their demands that their rights be respected. This all resulted in unprecedented number of victims," Lukyanov pointed out mentioning the events that occurred in Ukrainian city of Odessa on May 2, 2014, the perpetrators are still unknown and are at large.
Speaking on the subject of Crimea during the Warsaw meeting, the envoy said that Brussels, Washington and Kiev’s collective condemnation of Crimeans expressing their will at the referendum, was "a cynical step inconsistent with international law". "The format of the meeting allowed the representatives of the Crimean public to convey unbiased information about the situation on the peninsula to the OSCE member states."
Russia expects US, EU to express more readiness for dialogue on human rights
According to Lukyantsev, Russia expects the US and EU to show more openness in the discussion on human rights protection in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) member states, and abandon their attacks at sovereign countries.
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"We would like to highlight the fact that the EU member states and the US should demonstrate more readiness for dialogue and cooperation in the human dimension field, for abandoning the attacks on sovereign countries pursuing independent policy. The Western partners’ unconstructive approach has in fact already resulted in the defamation of the very idea of human rights protection," Lukyantsev noted.
"Meanwhile, the OSCE is facing some serious tasks that include solving the migration problem, combating racism, intolerance and neo-Nazism, protecting children’s rights, ensuring the freedom of religion and the rights of believers, and also protecting the rights of minorities and journalists," the Russian representative added. He pointed out that during the Warsaw meeting, the EU failed to clarify how it was going to solve the migration crisis.
"This problem is particularly important in the context of human rights protection as the international terrorist organizations are making advantage of the migrants flow in order to enter Europe. Moreover, it must be remembered that the irresponsible actions and the policy of the US and their allies aimed at overthrowing the undesirable political regimes in the Middle East and North Africa were the primary cause of the current migration crisis in Europe. In this regard, we consider the talk about sharing the burden and responsibility concerning the migration crisis to be inappropriate," Lukyantsev said.
Speaking on the further work, he highlighted the need to implement the decision made by the OSCE Ministerial Council and adopt a declaration on combating intolerance and discrimination against Christians and Muslims. "We believe it is important to make a decision prohibiting discrimination in sports, particularly against the athletes with disabilities. That would make a proper response to the undisguised discriminatory decision banning Russian athletes from participation in the Rio Paralympic Games. We also believe that a decision on the freedom of expression should be made at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg," the Russian representative concluded.