The OSCE Secretariat is trying to avoid showing the real nature of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and is very shy about using the term “Russian aggression against Ukraine.”
This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by Yuriy Vitrenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to International Organizations in Vienna.
“I must note that there is a constant attempt by the Secretariat to avoid revealing the true nature of the war — as our partners say, ‘to call a spade a spade’. They in the Secretariat are still very shy about the term ‘Russian aggression against Ukraine,’” he said.
According to Vitrenko, the Ukrainian delegation is actively fighting against such terminology in the OSCE as “war in Ukraine” without mentioning Russia as the aggressor.
Responding to a question about the fact that Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu uses this term, the head of the Ukrainian mission to the OSCE noted that this is “a very relevant and important observation.”
“We insist on the correct reflection of facts and realities, we fight for every term, for every signal. What do we see in the case of the OSCE Secretary General and many other heads of international structures? A desire, as it were, to keep channels of mediation open with the other side – the aggressor. We should also not forget that the OSCE Secretary General is a classic and experienced Turkish diplomat, a former permanent representative of Turkey to the UN in New York. And so, obviously, the Turkish diplomatic school and Ankara’s positioning and role as the current important negotiating platform between Ukraine and Russia are also being extrapolated here, for which we are truly grateful to our Turkish friends,” Vitrenko noted.
Along with this, he pointed out that the Ukrainian mission “will continue to work hard with the Secretary General and the OSCE Secretariat on making their public signals more ambitious — so that, ideally, they ‘catch up’ with the statements of the ‘Trios’.
The head of the Ukrainian mission to the OSCE also agreed that it was surprising that OSCE Secretary General Sinirlioğlu, speaking at the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act about problems with non-compliance with its principles, did not mention Russia as the main violator of all ten principles.
“I agree with you 100 percent. This is unacceptable to us. We have sent the appropriate signals. The Secretary General and his team believe that they are presenting the information in a way that is clear to everyone,” he said.
At the same time, Vitrenko added that during bilateral meetings with the Ukrainian side, Sinirlioğlu “expresses solidarity with Ukraine, voices the right messages, and demonstrates a proper understanding of the situation.”
He also agreed to participate in events that are important to us in the near future, which will be announced later. It should also be noted that, despite strong pressure from Russia, the OSCE Secretary General was one of fourteen foreign leaders who arrived in Kyiv on a solidarity visit on the third anniversary of the full-scale Russian war,” the Permanent Representative of Ukraine noted.
According to him, Sinirlioğlu “seeks to be useful as a possible mediator, in particular on the issue of the return of Ukrainian children and prisoners of war”: “Perhaps that is why Feridun Sinirlioğlu, with his very general rhetoric, clearly makes it clear that he cannot immediately, at the beginning of his term, ‘burn bridges’ with Russia, to which, at some stage and with our consent, he may need to turn to within the framework of possible mediation processes.”
At the same time, Vitrenko acknowledged that the OSCE Secretary General’s trip to Moscow was a bad decision and that the Ukrainian side had warned him and his team that Russia “would manipulate this trip and use it for its own purposes.” “There will be no release of the three SMM employees, our fellow citizens, and the visit will be instrumentalized to create the impression of Russia’s lack of international isolation, the so-called ‘business as usual’. However, this was only the beginning of Feridun Sinirlioğlu’s term, and, of course, he wanted to start with a concrete result. However, we got exactly what we expected: Russia used this visit to declare the alleged absence of international ostracism — that is, despite everything, the heads of international organizations, in particular the OSCE, the largest regional security structure, are coming to us,” he said.
As reported by Ukrinform, at the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu did not mention Russia as an aggressor state waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, nor did he directly point out the Russian Federation’s violations of the principles enshrined in this fundamental document of European security.
Photo: OSCE
