Moscow-Sana
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Groshko confirmed today that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has become the only permanent platform for contact between Russia and Western countries on security issues in Europe.
Russia Today quoted Groshko as saying in a speech at the Russian Federation Council on the topic (The Paris Charter for a New Europe ... the jubilee of unfulfilled hopes): “The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has remained the only platform for such cooperation as issues of strengthening are still being discussed there. Military security based on the positive capabilities that have accumulated over the past years.
Grouchko added, "The problem of reducing military risks, preventing armed accidents, and arms control is also being discussed within the framework of this organization. It seems to me that the Westerners themselves understand very well that Russia cannot be simply ignored and it is necessary to talk to it."
The Russian official pointed out that contacts in the field of European security across other lines have practically stopped, as bilateral military channels with many countries have been frozen, and the Council of Russia and NATO is no longer practically meeting.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is the largest international organization for regional security cooperation in the world, with 56 participating states in its membership, and its activities began in 1975.
