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Russia to present draft declaration at OSCE meeting in Bratislava — Lavrov

The foreign minister pointed out that over the past five years the OSCE member-states had been unable to adopt resolutions devoted to the fight against the so-called Christianophobia and Islamophobia

OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

© Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Russia will submit a declaration on occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and draft resolutions on anti-terror, fight against drugs and free access to information at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council in Bratislava on December 5-6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

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"Russia has prepared and will present at the Ministerial Council’s session in Bratislava a draft declaration, which we worked out jointly with our allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)," Lavrov told a news conference after his meeting with OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger.

"The draft declaration is devoted to the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. We will also develop draft resolutions on vital issues such as anti-terror efforts, the fight against drug threat and on the need to ensure free access to information for the public and journalists," Lavrov elaborated.

The foreign minister noted that last year’s Russian draft resolution on defending language, education and other rights of national minorities remained on the table.

Lavrov pointed out that, regrettably, over the past five years the OSCE member-states had been unable to adopt resolutions devoted to the fight against the so-called Christianophobia and Islamophobia. "This year will also mark the 20th anniversary of the Charter for European Security and the Platform for Cooperative Security," he went on.

The Russian foreign minister recalled that those documents were passed in 1999 at a summit in Istanbul and Moscow suggested adopting a document confirming the principles of indivisible security and the need to establish partnership between the OSCE countries and all regional and subregional organizations.

"Russia confirmed its readiness for constructive work on all possible draft decisions in three dimensions of the OSCE’s activity with the understanding that they should take into account Russia’s priorities," the minister stressed.

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