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To keep info from getting to Ukraine, Russia won’t share military data with OSCE — MFA

Nikolay Kobrinets stressed that Russia had never used a selective approach to the commitments it made within the OSCE framework, and it has the right to expect the same from the other member-states in the organization

MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Russia does not consider it possible to provide military information to the OSCE in light of a number of countries defaulting on their obligations under the Vienna Document on Confidence and Security Building Measures as amended in 2011 (Vienna Document 2011) and the risk that this information may be used by Ukraine’s military, the director of the pan-European cooperation department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Nikolay Kobrinets, told TASS in an interview.

The diplomat recalled that in July 2022, the Czech Republic decided to suspend the fulfillment of its obligations under the Vienna Document 2011 in relation to Russia. In November, Ukraine announced at the OSCE forum that it would not transfer data in accordance with the procedure of annual exchanges of military information and annual notifications, and 29 OSCE countries failed to provide certain types of notifications within the established deadlines. Also, Bulgaria, Poland and France did not invite Russian representatives to visit their bases, and the Netherlands removed Russia from the notification mailing list.

"Such actions undermine the basis of the Vienna Document, turning verification mechanisms into an additional source of gathering intelligence information for Western countries. We know how this is used in the interests of Ukraine’s armed forces, nationalist battalions and mercenaries in Ukraine. Under these conditions, Russia found it impossible to provide information about its armed forces and the main systems of weapons and equipment and plans for the deployment of these systems, provided for by Section I of the Vienna Document 2011, and notified the OSCE of the relevant decision," Kobrinets said.

He stressed that Russia had never used a selective approach to the commitments it made within the OSCE framework, and it has the right to expect the same from the other member-states in the organization. "In reality it happens otherwise," Kobrinets remarked.

"We do not renounce our obligations, but we will adjust further steps depending on the implementation of the Vienna Document 2011 by the other OSCE member-states," he said. You will agree, it is strange to hide information from us, to incite Ukraine to war and to supply it with ever more ‘lethal’ weapons in huge amounts while demanding transparency from us in the military sphere. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. This won’t do".