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‘Some countries use OSCE to put pressure on others’, says Russian ruling party leader

As the deputy head of the Russian Security Council noted, "this contradicts the essence of the organization itself when some states try to put pressure on us with the help of certain institutions, and we have a different stance"

MOSCOW, September 28. / TASS /. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is becoming an institution that some countries are using to exert pressure on others, Chairman of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev, who also serves as Deputy Head of the Russian Security Council, told the RT TV channel on Tuesday.

"It is really bad when a global organization turns into an institution that some countries, groups of countries use to influence others. Actually, one has forgotten what the OSCE was once convened for. Now it is called the Organization for Security and Cooperation, but long ago it was a Conference. It was far back in the 1970s. This means that it was [convened] for all participants to find a consensus on the crucial issues," Medvedev noted.

According to the national party leader, "this contradicts the essence of the organization itself when some states try to put pressure on us with the help of certain institutions, and we have a different stance." Sometimes, decisions must be consensual, adopted by unanimity, Medvedev believes.

The security council’s deputy head mentioned that the UN Charter had a veto right, which had "great meaning for global politics."

"Because a decision, which was not approved by one country or a group of countries, will not be implemented. And what is the value of such a [moot] decision, then? To unleash another international fight? To argue, call each other names, send protest notes? Therefore, as I see it, the value of such organizations, including observation missions, is the fact that they are based on common agreement," Medvedev went on to say.

Commenting on whether Russia could "avoid clamor" if it upheld the OSCE proposal and allowed 500 observers instead of the usual number of 50 people to enter the country, Medvedev admitted that "first of all, no one cared about this clamor, by and large". "Second of all, I remember the 2008 elections, in which I took part. They also began to clamor, saying something about the number of observers or something like that. So, has anything changed? Nothing has changed," Medvedev concluded.

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