Russian FM Tells Albania’s Rama Undermining of Trust in OSCE Becoming More Obvious

On November 9, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Edi Rama upon the latter’s initiative, said a press release issued by Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
The officials discussed preparations for the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Tirana (December 3-4 of this year) via videoconference and the prospects for OSCE efforts under the sanitary and epidemiological restrictions due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
The officials as the press release said exchanged views on ways of overcoming the institutional crisis in the OSCE, opportunities for promoting dialogue and developing productive cooperation on a unifying agenda and security issues.
During the discussion of the situation in Belarus, Mr. Lavrov noted that the use of the Moscow mechanism as regards Minsk has further limited the OSCE’s chances to facilitate a constructive dialogue between the Belarusian authorities and the opposition.
The conclusions reached by Wolfgang Benedek are biased and unprofessional, said the press release.
He took the liberty of submitting unacceptable political recommendations that are far beyond the authority and competence of OSCE institutions and mechanisms. His example has made the double standards that are undermining trust in the OSCE even more obvious, the press release concluded.