Kuleba: Only way to save OSCE to get rid of Russia as its part

The Ukrainian side believes that the only way to save the OSCE from the destructive influence of Russia is to get rid of the Russian Federation as part of the organization.

This was stated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, who spoke at a joint press conference in Kyiv with the current OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy noted that Russia had long attacked the Helsinki Final Act, even before February 24, but since the full-scale invasion, they have been systematically destroying every letter of it, every day.

"Everything they do is aimed at undermining this fundamental document and undermining the OSCE. Therefore, I repeated to my colleague Ukraine's expectations: we believe that the only way to save the OSCE is to get rid of Russia as part of it. And until we get to this point, we need to do everything to deprive Russia of the opportunity to influence certain processes and decisions made within the organization," said Kuleba.

According to the top diplomat, while there is still a certain way to go before the complete exclusion of Russia from the OSCE, then the minimization of Russia's negative influence on the functioning of the OSCE "is already happening."

As reported, on November 26, 2022, Ukraine initiated a complex process aimed at depriving Russia of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and throwing it out of the UN seat in general.

Acting Chairman of the OSCE, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani arrived in Ukraine on Monday. This is his first official visit as OSCE chair.

Osmani is scheduled to meet with high-ranking officials to discuss the humanitarian and security challenges the country is facing amid Russian aggression.