Deferred Mechanism: OSCE PA calls for Russia's return
A number of delegations to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly are calling for the return of Russia, the organization told Izvestia. Moscow will receive the right to vote only if it pays a contribution of €262 thousand, they said. Earlier, the Russian Federation suspended its participation in the activities of the OSCE PA due to the constant obstacles imposed on its delegation, "biased discriminatory approaches, double standards and total Russophobia." Therefore, Moscow may be interested in returning to work in the OSCE PA only if the entire policy of this organization changes, experts believe. In the meantime, Russian deputies have the opportunity to convey their position to members of parliaments around the world and on other platforms.
Who in the OSCE PA supports the return of Russia
Some delegations to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly are calling for an open dialogue with the participation of all national delegations, including Russia, the organization's press service told Izvestia. At the same time, there are also voices against the participation of the Russian Federation in the work of the assembly.
"Some of the opinions expressed over the past three years were aimed at isolating Russia, while a number of others emphasize the importance of an open dialogue with the full participation of all national delegations," the OSCE PA told Izvestia.
The issue of Russia's return to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is also related to the need to pay membership fees, since otherwise the Russian delegation will not have the right to vote. The Russian Federation stopped paying them in 2023. At that time, Moscow's contribution was about 6% of the annual budget of the assembly, said State Duma Deputy Speaker Peter Tolstoy.
— Russia's ability to exercise voting rights depends on fulfilling its financial obligations in accordance with the rules of procedure. Russia's contributions in the current fiscal year amount to €262.4 thousand, the OSCE PA told Izvestia.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was established in April 1991. It currently includes 323 parliamentarians from 56 countries, and the Holy See is sending one delegate as a guest.
It is a forum for parliamentary dialogue, which sends election observation missions, discusses and adopts declarations and resolutions of a recommendatory nature.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is a large transatlantic organization with groups of countries with different political orientations. Russia's normal participation in the forum is supported by a number of post-Soviet countries, primarily the Central Asian states. Hungary and Slovakia are among the EU and NATO countries, and Serbia is also a member of the OSCE PA, Vladimir Shapovalov, a political scientist and deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State University, told Izvestia.
It is important that the national delegations consist of representatives of various parliamentary parties, including the opposition. Therefore, members of political forces calling for dialogue with Moscow, including the Five Star Movement in Italy or Alternative for Germany from Germany, may speak within the OSCE PA.
The Russian Federation has been participating in the activities of the OSCE PA since its establishment and is sending a delegation of 15 people — five from the Federation Council and 10 from the State Duma. Since 2017, the Russian delegation has been headed by State Duma Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy. The Assembly approved several resolutions submitted by the Russian side: on national minorities, the fight against terrorism and the inadmissibility of discrimination and intolerance against Christians, Muslims and followers of other religions.
However, since 2015, Western countries have constantly created obstacles to the work of the Russian delegation. So, in February 2015, due to the appeal of Ukrainians, the OSCE PA Bureau revoked the mandate of Senator from Crimea Olga Kovitidi to participate in the assembly. In July of the same year, the Finnish Foreign Ministry denied the then State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and several deputies under EU sanctions entry to the country to participate in the summer session of the OSCE PA.
At the opening of the winter session in January 2022, PA members again challenged the credentials of the Russian delegation, in June 2022, the British authorities refused to issue visas to Russian delegates to participate in the summer session, and in November Poland took the same action. Austria, where the PA winter session was held in February 2023, received our country's delegates, but they were forbidden to lay flowers at the monuments to the liberating soldiers in the Austrian capital. In June 2023, the Russian delegation decided not to fly to Canada for the PA summer session, as it was not provided with guarantees of a normal stay.
In July 2024, the State Duma and the Federation Council adopted a joint statement suspending the participation of the delegation of the Federal Assembly of Russia in the work of the OSCE PA. The parliamentarians noted that the organization has "biased discriminatory approaches, double standards and total Russophobia," which indicates its degradation as a mechanism of inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Despite the suspension of participation in the Parliamentary Assembly, the Russian Federation retained its membership in the OSCE. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in May 2024 that the only reason for participating in the OSCE was to be able to communicate the Russian position directly to the other 56 participants. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in an interview with Izvestia that the OSCE is at a "crossroads."
Does Russia need to return to the OSCE PA
Russia may be interested in returning to work in the OSCE PA in the event of a change in the entire policy of this organization and an apology for insults against our country, Alexei Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma's International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia.
In addition, the statement on the suspension of Russia's participation in the OSCE PA indicated its readiness to return to work "subject to a review by its leadership and a number of member states of Russophobic and discriminatory approaches to solving pressing problems of European security."
The OSCE PA told Izvestia that they consider Russia's non-participation to be largely voluntary.
—Although there were cases when sanctions led to the fact that Russian parliamentarians could not obtain visas, the Russian delegation is still invited to our meetings, and it would have been able to participate in many of them if the Russian parliament had not decided to adhere to the policy of non-participation in the work of the assembly," the organization's press service said..
Russia is not interested in this format, Moscow can return there only for political reasons to build a dialogue with Western countries. Initially, the OSCE was created as a dialogue window between the West and the East, in which the parties were equal, Vladimir Shapovalov emphasized.
— The current format of the OSCE PA's work is not aimed at reducing tension. Russia should have not just the right to vote, but the right to veto anti—Russian decisions, the expert believes.
In addition to the OSCE PA, Russia is active in other venues, including the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, and the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly. There are dozens of bilateral formats of interaction with parliaments of other countries. Including with NATO countries: in January, a delegation of the Slovak parliament came to Moscow. Therefore, Russia's non-participation in the work of the OSCE PA does not affect our country's ability to communicate its position to members of parliaments around the world.
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