No scenario of Russia's exclusion from OSCE, says envoy
There are no such norms and rules in the procedures of the organization, Alexander Lukashevich noted
MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. No scenario for the exclusion of the Russian Federation from the OSCE is envisaged, as there are no such rules in the organization, Russia's permanent representative to the OSCE, Alexander Lukashevich said during a Rossiya-24 TV broadcast on Tuesday.
"No, such a scenario is not envisaged, because there are no such norms and rules in the procedures of our organization. There is a consensus rule on which the entire organization is based," he replied to the relevant question.
"If the Polish presidency considers it possible to allow such intolerable things, we will fight against it in every way," Lukashevich added. The diplomat specified that now it's difficult to predict how the ministerial meeting in Lodz, planned for December, will be held, considering the Polish representatives’ behavior. "Still, in order to maintain this platform, the presidency <...> will have to reckon with the fact that we need to work out some solutions," he said.
"But in any case, we count on the remnants of reason, which should turn the Polish presidency in a more constructive direction," Lukashevich concluded.
A special meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was held in the morning of April 5 to discuss the consequences of the Russian military operation in Ukraine's Kiev region.
A number of politicians and representatives of international organizations, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, called for an investigation into the events in Bucha. Meanwhile, leaders of a number of European states, as well as the European Commission and the EU Foreign Affairs Policy have already called for new sanctions against Russia.