MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. The decision of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to deem the Wagner PMC a terrorist organization can be seen as an endorsement of the Russian authorities, because it was made after the mutiny attempt, Russian Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution, in which it deemed the Wagner PMC a terrorist organization. The resolution calls on OSCE member states to use all available internal and international instruments to counter terrorism, including making full use of all domestic and international instruments, including those established to counter terrorism, to thwart the malignant presence of the Wagner Group (and its affiliates and successors) wherever it operates and ensure the accountability of all those responsible for the crimes they have committed."
"I would like to separately point out the clause on the recognition of the Wagner PMC as a terrorist organization, considering that this is not the only PMC in the world, to put it mildly. But the very fact that the OSCE PA decided to recognize it as such after the mutiny attempt could probably be viewed as firm support for the Russian authorities," the senator said on his Telegram channel.
He also noted that the PA adopted a resolution on the establishment of a tribunal to hold Russia responsible for war crimes in Ukraine, which includes a call to convene statutory meetings only in countries that support visa restrictions for Russian lawmakers.
"Meanwhile, the OSCE PA will not hold its events in countries that are ready to provide visas to Russian citizens. This whole extravaganza is topped off by the recommendation ‘not to appoint Russian lawmakers that support the war to responsible positions in the Assembly until the hostilities end’," Kosachev stated.
Meanwhile, he underscored that the main topic of the PA session in Vancouver was the issue of the PA's role in strengthening regional security by developing democratic and inclusive societies.
"Going back to the name of the session’s main topic, I can advise the management of the OSCE PA not to indulge in illusions: they have no role in the area of democratic or inclusive societies. Maybe only a destructive one. Overall, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the choice can only be this: either ‘solidarity with Ukraine’ or dialogue, peace and democracy. The OSCE PA made its choice, turning itself into a faded mirror of NATO and EU parliamentary assemblies," Kosachev said.
He pointed out that, this year, the Russian delegation had to refuse to travel to Canada, because "neither the OSCE leadership nor Canada provided any guarantees of security."