NEW YORK (TASS): The work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in the future will be determined based on the situation on the ground. Zbigniew Rau, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Poland chairing the OSCE, stated this on Monday at a briefing in the UN Security Council.
“The changing situation on the ground will likely determine the scope and nature of the future work of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. Recognizing the experience gained over the eight years of the mission, I will work with OSCE structures and Member States to use the potential of the mission in the future. I hope that the staff of the mission, as well as the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine, can continue their important mission,” he said.
Rau reiterated that the “door for diplomacy” on the situation around Ukraine “remains open”, but expressed the opinion that the possibility of a settlement depends on Russia’s willingness to work in this direction, and “a sustainable solution must respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine in the international recognized boundaries.”
The Polish Foreign Minister also noted that the events around Ukraine would affect the agenda of the chairmanship in the organization, in particular, the European security dialogue initiated by Warsaw, but expressed the hope that the discussion of relevant issues, including the settlement of frozen conflicts in the OSCE area, would will be able to move forward. “But this will require conscientious work from all participants, including Russia,” Rau said.
UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council said that for decades, the OSCE has worked to bring security to Europe.
And yet, we meet today in the middle of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine – one OSCE signatory tearing up the rulebook and pursuing war against another, as Foreign Minist-er Rau said, as if the Gen-eva Conventions and huma-nitarian law never existed.
President Putin’s war violates fundamental principles of both the OSCE and the UN: sovereignty; inviolability of borders; respect for territorial integrity; and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
This war is a threat to us all. To the systems we have built together to preserve peace. It’s a threat too to the peace and security of millions of people in Europe, Africa and Asia who rely on agricultural, energy and commodity supply chains – already profoundly disrupted by Russia’s invasion.
We recognise the extensive efforts, which Foreign Minister Rau described, which the OSCE has made to try and avoid this catastrophe:
Russia was offered a chance to raise any security concerns in the OSCE Renewed European Secu-rity Dialogue – but said it was not the right time. We now know they were planning war all along.
Ukraine and others invoked the OSCE Vienna Document Risk Reduction Mechanism – to seek transparency from Russia and Belarus and to de-escalate the situation. Russia refused to engage.
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