MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Russia isn’t clinging to the status of an observer at the Organization of American States but the decision to suspend it is regretful, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Friday.

"We regret this decision," she said, according to the statement. "The purpose of this document, which was advanced by the NATO countries that are members of the OAS, the US and Canada, is to involve the states of Latin America in their anti-Russian fuss and to sow discord with Russia, relations with which are historically characterized by ties of friendship, mutually respectful dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation."

"We don’t cling to the status of an observer at the OAS," the statement continued.