SKOPJE, November 30. /TASS/. Actions of the West raise a question if there is any point at all to invest in revival of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the OSCE Ministerial meeting in Skopje.
"Western capitals finish off OSCE’s chances for revival with remarkable obsession. They have already created the European Political Community without Russia and Belarus. […] Let is admit it straight, the [OSCE] is on the brink of collapse," Lavrov noted.
"A simple question arises: is there any point in investing in revival of the Organization? Will it be able to adapt to the objective reality of global development and to once again become a platform for review of regional security problems, based on the Helsinki Final Act principles - first and foremost, principle of equality of all member states? So far, there are more questions than answers," he said, noting that the OSCE is "being transformed into an appendage of NATO and the EU."
According to the foreign minister, this situation is a consequence of Western attempts to ensure its dominance by exploiting the OSCE.
"The current situation is a direct consequence of insistent attempts of our Western neighbors to ensure their dominance by shamelessly exploiting the OSCE for aggressive promotion of their narrow self-interests and by deliberate dismantling of the basic principle of consensus and the very culture of diplomacy," Lavrov concluded.