MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. The experience of new OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu may help at least initiate the process of depoliticizing the organization and bringing it back to its foundations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"We consider today's visit by the secretary general as a symbolic step towards restoring [the OSCE’s original principles]. It is a long way, but nevertheless the secretary general wants to bring the organization back to its core values. And we will support him in every way on this path," Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with Sinirlioglu.
"I really hope that Mr. Sinirlioglu's experience will help us reduce political bias or at least start — I understand it cannot be done fast - the process of depoliticizing our organization and restoring its original mission," the minister said.
Lavrov also said that OSCE's work in its main areas has been conducted "inconsistently for a long time, thereby depriving participating countries of the opportunity to discuss the most important, rather than opportunistic, development issues" related to the economy, the environment, humanitarian, social, and security issues.