Ukraine, its partners leave hall due to Belarus' chairpersonship in OSCE FSC

The delegations of Ukraine and its partners made a demarche on Wednesday and left the hall due to the beginning of Belarus' chairpersonship in the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation, one of the Organization's two main decision-making bodies.

Belarus assumed the four-month chairpersonship in OSCE FSC at the end of April. However, before that, Ukraine and many other OSCE participating States signaled that in the current context, when Belarus is a co-aggressor in Russia's war against Ukraine, Minsk's chairpersonship in OSCE FSC is deemed impossible.

The Delegation of Ukraine stated that it did not consider it possible to embrace the fact that such discussions would be chaired and their agenda would be determined by “a participating State that supports the ongoing full-scale war in the OSCE area on the side of the aggressor,” an Ukrinform correspondent reports from Austria.

“The Republic of Belarus provided the Russian Federation with the territory for the ground invasion of Ukraine. At least three Ukrainian regions –Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Chernihiv regions – were attacked from the territory of Belarus. Belarus provided Russia with airfields for airstrikes and launching grounds for missile attacks, including those targeting the civilian population. Such acts unequivocally fall under the definition of acts of aggression provided by the UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) ‘Definition of Aggression’,” the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to OSCE stated.

In view of that, it is emphasized that Ukraine deems it “unacceptable and even damaging to letter and spirit of existing commitments in the politico-military dimension that the state that is actively involved in a flagrant violation of the OSCE principles and commitments by the Russian Federation will chair the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation.”

“We regret that Belarus did not waive its turn to chair the FSC. The very fact of its Chairpersonship is an affront to the principles on which our Organisation is based,” the Delegation of Ukraine stressed.

Ukraine’s Representative underlined that such state of affairs made it impossible for the Delegation of Ukraine to continue its usual participation and engagement in the FSC meetings under the Chairpersonship of Belarus and left the hall, followed by representatives of partner countries.

The Сhairpersonship in the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation, which deals with military and political issues (primarily arms control and confidence- and security-building), rotates every four months.

On February 24, Russian president Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy key infrastructure facilities, massively fire on residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, MLRS, and ballistic missiles.

Part of the Russian military invaded Ukraine from the territory of Belarus. Moreover, Russians launch missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and make sorties to bomb Ukraine from the territory of Belarus.

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