... just to advance its own interests within the post-Cold War European system with its common set of rules. It means having geopolitical veto rights and uncritical acceptance of the nature and practices of its domestic regime – neither of which the OSCE principles can provide.
Contrary to what many would claim, Russia is not an expansionist power. It does not want to dominate the world, conquer Europe or even restore the Soviet Union. But it wants a sphere of control in the area that the EU calls its Eastern neighbourhood, and it wants spheres of control as ...
... reporting has been changing since the start of the Ukrainian crisis and the Russia-West confrontation in 2013-2014.
Given that the West and Russia repeatedly point fingers at each other and accuse each other of using media for propaganda purposes, the OSCE report is very relevant. As a result, the report generated its fair share of publicity in
some Russian media in February
.
In today’s highly charged geopolitical environment, “propaganda” has become a sort of a buzzword among academics, experts and media professionals. On Feb. 24, experts, officials and journalists discussed this problem ...
... prevention of conflicts from escalating. Since the NATO-Russian Council is largely defunct, the OSCE remains the only viable instrument we have at our disposal. A German participant stressed that in a situation when there are questions about how much value Russia really still attaches to the OSCE, whether it’s ready for any binding agreements or new architecture or not, the only thing that we can try to reach – is to use OSCE as an instrument for preventing “silly things from happening accidentally”, as it what happened ...
Recent developments both in Ukraine and Syria show that international community is making effort to come to terms with Russia on these two stumbling blocks but there is still a lot to be done. European Leadership Network Director
Ian Kearns
has shared his expert opinion on how these issues might develop in future with RIAC.
What has been achieved according to the OSCE mandate in Ukraine?
I think one of the most important things that have been achieved at this particular moment in time appears to be ceasefire which is functioning and which is being monitored at least to some degree on the ground. Most people still ...
... unfortunately some of these concerns materialized.
The eruption of the Ukraine crisis shone a spotlight on the inefficiency of the very international institutions charged with maintaining security and communication channels in the European space, including the Russia-NATO Council set up in 2002 to deliver permanent contact and crisis prevention, and the OSCE, which also seems the only hope for diplomacy.
Avoiding War in Europe: How to Reduce the Risk
of a Military Encounter Between Russia and
NATO
The very concept of building a Greater Europe is increasingly coming under fire. In fact, it is hard to ...
... “a new bipolarity” while it is still possible. That, in turn, means that we should try to preserve the few bridges that still link us and that, in our shared pugnacity, we have not yet burned.
10. I am referring to the mechanisms of the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the sub-regional organisations (from the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation to the Arctic Council) and even the NATO-Russia Council. No excessive hopes can be pinned on any of these structures and organisations: they have not and will not prevent a continental rift between the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasia. But they could prevent this rift from assuming a tough, confrontational ...
... Italian delegate
underlined
the importance of the dialogue, having observed that Russia cannot be excluded from the processes of European integration.
flickr.com/photos/oscepa/
Results of Helsinki+40 Project Presented at
OSCE PA Anniversary Session
Russia regards the OSCE as a solid platform for dialogue, where it has acted as an equal partner and participated in decision-making process. During the Ukraine crisis the OSCE seemed to be one of the few multilateral forums suitable for reaching agreements.
However, Russia ...
... rival or appendix, much depends on the evolution of NATO and its policy in the future: If it returns to a Cold War strategy, its major goal will be the containment of Russia. In this case, the OSCE and NATO are hardly likely to cooperate, because the OSCE includes Russia and other countries that don’t support such a policy.
If Russia and NATO resume dialogue, I can admit that under certain circumstances, NATO might be seen even as the tool of the OSCE. After all, the OSCE doesn’t have military forces ...
... Russia.
Opinions have been voiced that time has come to change the key and regard Russia as part of Europe rather than plunge into confrontation, the sanctions being vestiges of the past and hardly effective as foreign policy tools since they damage both Russia and European countries. Many said that the OSCE seems the least efficient organization in the Ukraine context.
It was the third Helsinki+40 seminar, the first one held by RIAC in
Moscow
in September 2014 and the second by the Marshall Fund of the United States in
Washington
in November 2014....
On November 18, 2014 in Washington, DC, the German Marshall Fund of the United States held seminar “
Helsinki+40: the Significance for Transatlantic Relations
”, the second one in the series initiated by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly within
project “Helsinki+40.”
Last September, a similar event
took place in Moscow
. The Washington session was attended by GMF President Karen Donfreid, OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva, Cochairman of “Helsinki+40” ...
