Russia indignant that OSCE 'does not protect the rights of Russian speakers' in Ukraine and Baltics
Andrei Kelin, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department of European Cooperation (DEC) has stated that the Russian Foreign Ministry is in favor of reforming the OSCE over bias in the organization’s work, reports Gazeta.ru.
"We are concerned about the way the specialized institutions of the OSCE work. The bulk of their activities are concentrated in the field of human rights, and are implemented in relation to countries east of Vienna," Kelin said.
According to Kelin, the organization has sent 300-400 election observers to former Soviet Union countries, while usually four or five experts observe EU member country elections.
"Another example is the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. In some countries, he does not notice harassment of journalists, but in others searches under a microscope and then gives [findings] in hypertrophied form. From the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, we constantly demand that more attention be paid to the infringement of the rights of the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States and Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry spokesman added.
Kelin said that Russia stands for reforming the Organization in this regard through the adoption of a charter for individual missions and institutions.
"Unfortunately, our Western partners are blocking this, because the current amorphism allows them to make OSCE institutions work in their own interests," the diplomat said.