Lavrov Slams OSCE over Georgia

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, told the OSCE ministerial council in Helsinki on December 5, that the Organization was failing to tackle its basic functions.

“If in early 90s the Organization was capable of stopping wars, now it is not only incapable of doing it, but it is also failing to even react on unsanctioned use of force,” Lavrov said. “Let’s recall 1999 when Yugoslavia was under bombardment for almost three months or the military attack on South Ossetia. Unfortunately, OSCE has failed to give an appropriate assessment, which would have been based on facts and commitments of the member-states.”

He, however, also said that Russia was against of “waning” of the Organization and in this context he reiterated need for new binding security pact in the trans-Atlantic area.

The Russian Foreign Minister also said the August events raised the need to pay more attention “to the circulation of information internally within the OSCE and to the existence of ‘filters’ which make it [this information] accessible to only part of the member-states.”

“We are in particular concerned over media reports that just before the attack on South Ossetia OSCE observers on the ground were reporting about Tbilisi’s [military] preparations, but their reports, for some reasons, were not passed to all member-states. This is totally unacceptable. We hope that an appropriate internal investigation will be accomplished in this regard,” Lavrov said.

In his address, Lavrov has again criticized “some OSCE-member states” of helping Georgia to restore its military capabilities.

“In recent two-three years, Russia has been raising the issue of danger that supply of heavy armament to Georgia contained,” Lavrov said. “Now, after bitter lessons of the August events, voices are still heard in some of the OSCE-member states about the need to provide massive military assistance to Georgia and about the need to quickly restore its military capabilities. We still call on everyone to take our warnings seriously and to strictly follow commitments laid out in the relevant OSCE documents. We will continue to raise these issues, including at the [OSCE’s] Forum for Security Co-operation.”

Lavrov also said that the Georgian leadership “has cut gas supply to South Ossetia. This act can not be qualified otherwise than inhuman, taking into account that there is winter ahead.” Officials in Tbilisi said recently that the problem with gas supply was related with the gas distribution network in the region, which was damaged during the August war.

“OSCE leadership and its institutions should take immediate measures to prevent humanitarian catastrophe, which may be caused as a result of the Tbilisi’s actions,” Lavrov said.

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