Russia must end its war and stop trying to undermine dialogue: UK statement to the OSCE
Ambassador Neil Holland thanks Denmark for their professional and principled chairing of the Forum for Security Cooperation, despite Russia’s repeated distractions and breaches of its OSCE commitments.
Thank you to you Mr Chair and to the Acting State Secretary from Denmark for your remarks. Mr Chair, dear Christian, I want to also thank you and your team for your professional, polite and principled stewardship of this Forum over the past Trimester.
We fully support your efforts to keep the FSC focused on Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale and illegal invasion of Ukraine. The invasion is in its third year and continues to violate the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act’s core principles, including those on sovereignty, territorial integrity and the non-use of force. Principles which Ukraine is fighting for, and which my Prime Minister has promised the UK will ‘support for as long as it takes’. Under your stewardship, we have shown that these principles and this Forum continue to matter and that we will keep on defending both.
Mr Chair, all of your Security Dialogues rightly focused on different aspect of Russia’s war, notably on the Code of Conduct and the Helsinki Decalogue. We discussed the pattern of Russia contravening OSCE principles across the OSCE region. As we have documented since February 2022, Russia’s war in Ukraine is contravening the whole Decalogue and the Code. Russia stationing its forces in Georgia and Moldova, without their consent, also contravenes the Decalogue and Code.
Mr Chair, perhaps that is why Russia continues to do everything it can to avoid this Forum from meeting to discuss these violations. For a third Trimester in a row, Russia has attempted to prevent the FSC Chair from hosting Security Dialogues. For a second Trimester in a row, Russia has attempted to prevent the FSC Chair from holding sessions with only mandated agenda items. For a second year in a row, and despite repeated requests from Chairs and other States, the Russian delegation has studiously avoided articulating any issues with the mandated Agenda, let alone offering alternatives.
The Rules of Procedure remain clear. Under these, the Chair is mandated to ‘ensure the good order and smooth running of meetings’. It is the Chair’s prerogative to set the agenda. And it is the Chair’s prerogative to select and invite guest speakers. No other State may dictate to the Chair – let alone issue ultimatums. Mr Chair, thank you for standing up for the mandate in a polite and principled manner. You ensured that the FSC has met weekly to discuss its mandated agenda items.
As I said last Trimester, there remains another path. If Russia’s professed wish for peace is genuine, Russia must end this war by withdrawing all of its forces to outside of Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders. And from Georgia and Moldova. If Russia is serious about dialogue and risk reduction, it must stop trying to undermine our Ministerial mandate of this Forum meeting each week.
I wish to conclude by thanking Croatia as it leaves the FSC Troika, and to welcome Estonia. The incoming Chair, Spain, can count on the UK’s full and continued support next Trimester – including in its prerogative as FSC Chair. Thank you.