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Russian diplomat says Moscow ready to bring back OSCE to real cooperation

Russia had been actively cooperating with Germany, who at present is presiding over the OSCE

© Valeriy Sharifulin/TASS

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VERONA, October 20. /TASS/. Russia is ready to bring the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) back to real cooperation and maintain meaningful interaction with any presiding country, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov told Russian reporters.

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"The matter is, you can’t put all the responsibility for restoring the climate of trust only on the presiding country," Meshkov stressed. "Restoration of trust depends on all member states. Russia is ready to take steps in order to bring the OSCE back into the field of practical cooperation," Meshkov explained when asked what Russia expected from Austria’s presidency in 2017.

Nonetheless, he expressed doubt that the Western counterparts were also ready. "We need to assess the position that the new US administration will adopt on the OSCE, and the developments in Europe and other regions of the world," the diplomat noted.

At the same time, he pointed out that Russia had been actively cooperating with Germany, who at present is presiding over the OSCE. "We are ready to cooperate with Austria. I have held consultations in Vienna with officials from the foreign ministry of Austria, who will lead the presidency. In my opinion, the talks turned out to be straightforward, based on mutual interests," Meshkov stated.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy OSCE Russian Foreign Ministry

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