Russia no longer participates in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Russia no longer works in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Both chambers of the Russian Parliament passed a declaration on Wednesday accusing the OSCE of "Russophobia" and discrimination in the context of the Ukraine conflict, and suspended Russia's participation and financial contributions accordingly.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE has harmed itself with its "partisan and discriminatory approach," "hypocrisy," and "complete Russophobia," according to a declaration passed by the Federation Council, the Russian upper house. The assembly leadership, however, failed to show understanding or an appropriate response to demands from Russian parliamentarians for "equal interparliamentary dialogue" and the "creation of a European security architecture."
"Given these circumstances, Russian senators and deputies consider it justified and legitimate to suspend the participation of the Russian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE and the payment of Russia's contribution to the budget of this organization," the Federation Council declared. The Duma, the lower house of parliament, passed a similar declaration on Wednesday.
The OSCE was founded in 1975 to reduce tensions between East and West during the Cold War. Currently, 57 countries are members of the organization, headquartered in Vienna. The Russian offensive in Ukraine has plunged the OSCE into its deepest crisis: Ukraine is calling for Russia to be expelled from the OSCE, as it has already been from the European Parliamentary Assembly.
The decision by the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE to adopt a partisan and discriminatory approach towards Russia, as stated in the Federation Council's declaration, has been firmly opposed by the Russian Parliamentary leaders. This has resulted in Russia's suspension of its participation and financial contributions to the OSCE, as outlined in declarations passed by both the Duma and Federation Council.
