Why the OSCE remains important in the current settings
Poland’s defiant refusal to allow the Russian foreign minister’s attendance at the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Lodz on December 1-2 provoked a boisterous diplomatic uproar. As might be expected,...
... Russia up with the EU and NATO as a like-minded “strategic partner”. But Russia still feels less than equal and humiliated. How come?
The truth seems to be that Russia has never wanted to be treated as an equal partner inside the Western OSCE-based system. Rather, for Moscow, being “equal” means having the right to set and tweak the rules, not just to advance its own interests within the post-Cold War European system with its common set of rules. It means having geopolitical ...
... remain the only viable solution to the crisis in Ukraine. If Minsk II fails, there will be no Minsk III
The new European security system needs to be Russia-inclusive. A number of Russian participants expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the OSCE and its ability to contribute to European security
Russia and the EU should come up with a positive agenda that addresses the issues of concern to both actors
Russia and Germany in a changing world order
The participants agreed that the current deterioration ...
... to which governments use and improve OSCE tools in the relevant areas depends first of all on the governments themselves, since the absence of a consensus among OSCE members effectively paralyses the organization.
Today, against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis, the OSCE is experiencing yet another renaissance. The prospects for resolving the conflict in and around Ukraine are directly linked to the work of the OSCE, although the crisis management instruments available to the organization are measured out in strictly ...
... the inefficiency of the very international institutions charged with maintaining security and communication channels in the European space, including the Russia-NATO Council set up in 2002 to deliver permanent contact and crisis prevention, and the OSCE, which also seems the only hope for diplomacy.
Avoiding War in Europe: How to Reduce the Risk
of a Military Encounter Between Russia and
NATO
The very concept of building a Greater Europe is increasingly coming under fire. In fact, it is hard to ...