Moscow 'blatantly' breaching international law, says OSCE chief

Bujar Osmani says Russia's invasion of Ukraine erodes the Helsinki Final Act

Russian ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya addresses the Security Council. Reuters

The head of the world's largest regional security organisation has accused Moscow of “blatantly” breaching fundamental principles of international law.

Speaking during a Security Council session in New York on Thursday, Bujar Osmani, head of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said Russia’s aggression “erodes the foundations” of the body by breaching the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act, the OSCE's founding document.

The Helsinki Accords, which provided a blueprint for ending the Cold War, commit the OSCE's members to refrain from the use of force and settle disputes peacefully.

Mr Osmani urged the Kremlin “once again” to end the war and withdraw its troops from the sovereign territory of Ukraine.

“War is neither necessity nor destiny,” he said. “In most cases, it's a deliberate human choice.”

The war has put tremendous strain on the OSCE, upending its Ukrainian operations and compromising its decision-making.

When Russia launched its invasion against Ukraine in February 2022, “it transgressed all of the OSCE’s core principles — sovereignty, respect for territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, and the peaceful settlement of disputes", said the UK's deputy ambassador to the UN, James Kariuki.

Increased tension in the OSCE has created operational constraints and led some to call into question the effectiveness of the organisation, which is meant to serve as a platform for dialogue on regional security issues between Russia and western states.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, accused the US of fostering a “Russophobic and neo-Nazi” attitude and of trying to bury the consequences of Ukrainian crimes.

Mr Nebenzya spoke of a “deepening crisis” in the OSCE due in part to the fact that a group of states are using the organisation to isolate Russia.

US ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis said the human cost of Russia’s aggression was “immeasurable”, and the damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure “massive”.

Mr DeLaurentis praised the newly released OSCE Moscow Mechanism report on the deportation of children from the Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.

He said a further report on Belarus was in progress.

“We hope everyone will read these reports given the grave human rights crisis in Belarus, and the unconscionable actions of the Russian Federation, which will inevitably have implications for regional security,” said Mr DeLaurentis.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed the OSCE's report investigating deportations of children from the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.

“The report’s conclusions are powerful: Russia’s actions are identified as war crimes and crimes against humanity," Mr Kuleba said.

"I insist on the fact that Russia must bring back our children who have been abducted and be held responsible for its actions."

In March, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his alleged role in the abduction and deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.

A Ukrainian boy, Vova, in the corridor of a Kyiv hospital after he was shot during the conflict. EPA