The Russian Permanent Representative said that some OSCE members directly support NATO interests

Many member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have now in practice begun to directly support the interests of the military and political blocs of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) and the European Union. This was stated by Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich on Wednesday, December 25.

He stated that the OSCE itself is now virtually somewhere on the sidelines, having turned only into a "servicing tool" of the West's interests.

"Today in the OSCE, in fact, there are no sovereign states acting in the OSCE. Although the sovereignty of the participating countries was enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, in practice many states represent the interests of military-political blocs - NATO and the EU," RIA Novosti quoted the diplomat as saying.

Lukashevich noted that the majority of such structures became especially obvious in the atmosphere of "anti-Russian hysteria, when Russia was accused of all possible sins." He added that he shares the opinion of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said that the Helsinki Final Act has turned into a "fig leaf" and a formality for Western countries, which is ignored for the sake of a "nato-centric approach."

"The degradation of the OSCE in all dimensions of security is taking on catastrophic proportions"

Alexander Lukashevich, Russia's Permanent Representative to the organization, on its incapacity, its role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis and difficulties in working with Western opponents

Earlier, on December 12, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma's international affairs committee, Aleksey Chepa, said that any attempts to talk about Ukraine's accession to the European Union (EU) and NATO were a continuation of the current conflict. This is how he reacted to the OSCE's plans to prepare Kiev for joining these structures.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova pointed out that OSCE special representative for Ukraine Petr Maresh, who announced plans to prepare Kiev for membership in the EU and NATO, intended to deepen the split in Europe.

Before that, on 5 December, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said during his speech at the OSCE's Ministerial Council meeting in Malta that there were no spheres in which the OSCE could be useful in terms of its tasks. According to him, the organization could become a gathering point for the interests of the members of the European space, but "no one in this room will ever think of using the OSCE for these purposes." He also pointed out that the West, in particular the American side of it, has already swept the NATO alliance and the European Union under its thumb and this does not make anyone better off.