Russia Protests Western Pressure on Bulgaria at OSCE Forum

Russia Protests Western Pressure on Bulgaria at OSCE Forum

The Russian side has expressed its protest against attempts by the West to pressure Bulgaria into discontinuing the presentation of Russian displays at the OSCE Forum on Security Cooperation, stated the head of the Russian delegation for military security and arms control negotiations in Vienna, Konstantin Gavrilov.

"We express our protest against the attempts of the Anglo-Saxons and their satellites to exert pressure on the Bulgarian chairmanship and stop the showcasing of our presentations," Gavrilov said at the 1051st plenary session of the OSCE Forum on Security Cooperation (FOSC).

According to him, the Russian delegation has been demonstrating the true state of affairs in the area of special military operations and shedding light on the testimonies of civilians in Donbass who have suffered at the hands of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) during the plenary sessions of the FOSC for almost a year and a half.

"Every week, we witness the fact that Europe and North America do not want to acknowledge their suffering, and they attempt to 'silence' the gross and systematic violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) against Russian prisoners of war. We urge the Bulgarian side to adhere to the neutral status of the chairman, whose role is to perform solely technical functions at the FOSC, and to follow the approaches to the organization's work agreed upon by all participating states," added the diplomat.

He clarified that otherwise, Russia would consider Bulgaria's censorial actions as a direct violation of Article I, Paragraph 1 of the OSCE procedural rules, which emphasizes the equal status of all participating states.

"If the Bulgarian chairmanship exceeds its authority, we reserve the right to take necessary reciprocal measures. We are interested in ensuring fairness and honesty at the FOSC. We expect our colleagues to have the wisdom not to push one of the pillars of the OSCE into a systemic crisis," concluded the diplomat.