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Russia makes its position on OSCE work clear to partners — diplomat

Traditional differences among states remain on regional problems - such as the Ukraine crisis and the so-called frozen conflicts
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov Valery Sharifulin/TASS
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

BERLIN, September 2 /TASS/. An informal OSCE ministerial meeting in Potsdam, Germany, was useful. The Russian side made its position clear to its OSCE partners, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov, told TASS in an exclusive interview on Friday.

"Our common task was to meet informally prior to a meeting of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers in Hamburg with an aim to verify the watches and understand where we stand," Meshkov said.

"Our second task was to start realizing how we could make the OSCE work more effective and how to turn this organization into the center of pan-European processes," the Russian deputy foreign minister said.

"Both themes were discussed. Sometimes the dialogue was constructive. The discussion of other issues revealed traditional differences among states primarily on regional problems - such as the Ukraine crisis and the so-called frozen conflicts," he added.

"Anyway, the talks were useful in our view. As for Russia, it seems that we made our fundamental stance clear to our partners," Meshkov stressed.

"That was our main task. Let’s wait and see if it was fulfilled successfully," the Russian deputy foreign minister said.