Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova takes a question about the outcomes of the OSCE conference
4 August 2025 17:58
1293-04-08-2025
Question: An event in Helsinki marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe on August 1, 1975. What is Moscow's assessment of this conference in light of the crisis plaguing the OSCE?
Maria Zakharova: On July 31 - August 1, the Finnish OSCE Chair-in-Office held in Helsinki an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act. The idea was originally proposed in 2021 by then President of Finland Sauli Niinistö, and we were supportive of it. The idea was to hold a solemn meeting of high-level representatives from the 57 participating states in order to revitalise the spirit of Helsinki in international relations.
However, it all came down to a political show with an anti-Russian slant laced with the attempts to privatise the historical legacy of the Helsinki process and to promote the idea of infallibility of the Western doctrine of the "rules-based order." As a reminder, no one has ever seen these rules.
The point of holding the conference became clear in March of this year when the Finnish CiO circulated a policy note that included the all-too-familiar accusations against our country in the context of Ukraine. Later, they made a list of side-event discussion items, such as "holding Russia accountable," "occupation of Crimea," and "persecution of human rights activists in Belarus." It is likewise notable that the speakers invited by the Finns to discuss the allegedly neutral topics during the main sessions included Zelensky (who spoke via video link), Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga, and leaders of a number of NGOs that are not welcome in Russia that promote the pro-Ukrainian agenda.
The organisers deliberately avoided engaging in a broad conceptual discussion about the future of the Organisation, and the national delegations had no chance to lay out their positions. The main part of the event was dominated by keynote speakers, and discussions were held in smaller groups. The participating countries were allocated limited amounts of time to speak at the very end of the forum. Clearly, the outcomes of the event have zero practical value and cannot be used as a basis for constructive decisions.
We believe this approach to marking an important date amid a crisis in the OSCE is unacceptable. The Finnish leadership used the OSCE anniversary to advance its national agenda steeped in undisguised Russophobia. We are witnessing uninterrupted - over the past six months - Finnish CiO's efforts to keep the Ukraine narrative afloat in all three OSCE "dimensions" at the expense of routine work. It strongly encouraged extrabudgetary activities in Ukraine and elsewhere that are not overseen by the participating states, and repeatedly attempted to undermine the Organisation's fundamental consensus rule taking numerous unauthorised steps in direct violation of the Chairmanship's mandate and the OSCE Rules of Procedure.
Considering the circumstances, participation in the Helsinki conference at a high political level made no sense. We used the occasion to remind everyone of the real causes and the culprits who led the Organisation's to its lamentable condition, as well as of Russia's reform proposals, which have been rejected by the Westerners for many years now. We highlighted the fact that Russia had invariably honoured the fundamental principles of Helsinki. However, we strongly oppose the attempts to subordinate the Helsinki process to Western political agenda. We will continue to oppose the selective application of the provisions of the Final Act and will keep striving for the resumption of an equal dialogue among the 57 OSCE participating states and using the Organisation as a platform to speak the truth.
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