Russia remains isolated in OSCE - U.S. Ambassador Carpenter
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe continues to be a useful international instrument, despite the "problematic" membership of Russia, whose activity in the OSCE is now isolated.
Ambassador Michael Carpenter, the U.S. permanent representative to the OSCE, said in a telephone briefing on Friday, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrinform.
"Of course, Russia is problematic as a member state, but so far we have successfully isolated it within the OSCE," said the U.S. representative.
He added that the OSCE does serve a useful purpose and has at least three functioning components to it.
"First, the OSCE is a forum where 57 countries sit around a table, discuss and at best agree on common declarations on how to advance our common interests," Carpenter noted.
In this regard, he emphasized that the Russian delegation feels isolated in this forum, since not a single country defends Russian aggression, and 45 of them have explicitly condemned the Kremlin's actions.
The second component is the OSCE field missions in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, which represent no small benefit to the organization. They are valuable in all aspects, from supporting the fight against human trafficking, to building political trust, to disposing of weapons in post-conflict countries, to combating gender-based violence.
The third component, according to the diplomat, is the OSCE's autonomous institutions, which also have their own benefits.
As the American Ambassador emphasized, the OSCE continues to be a useful organization for maintaining security and cooperation in Europe, and its activities are in the interests of democracy. At the same time, Russia, as a member state of this organization, continues to be in isolation, especially at the level of collective decision-making, Carpenter stressed.
