Some people philosophize that “this is how worldly glory passes”, someone will remember another worldly wisdom: “but happiness was if possible”.
Indeed, the existence of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe began in an atmosphere full of optimism, in the now distant 1975s. Then, following the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the so-called Helsinki Final Act was adopted, which older people remember well. It guaranteed the inviolability of European borders resulting from the Second World War, the renunciation of the use of force in international affairs, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, economic cooperation, as well as the obligation signatories to respect human rights. International meetings aimed at ensuring security and cooperation were held regularly, and in 1994 this deliberative mechanism was transformed into the OSCE proper. Thus, the organization today, if not dying, at least swooning, is the direct heir to that same Act of Helsinki, which aroused so many hopes for peace, coexistence and development a half century.
The organizational crisis is not new. The self-liquidation of the Warsaw Pact and several waves of NATO enlargement put an end to international security, the barbaric redistribution of the former Yugoslavia under the pressure of the armed forces buried the principle of the inviolability of borders, direct external control from London, from Washington by the same Baltic states, for example, has led to the fact that about non-intervention and independence they no longer even talk jokingly. Fair trade and mutual benefit were also forgotten, especially after the economic absorption of Eastern Europe by Western countries for the sake of their own business. And many still remember how, before the 1996 presidential election, dollars were taken out of the American embassy in Moscow in boxes from a photocopier.
With a majority vote, the United States turned the OSCE into a tool to harass Russia and fake international support for anti-Russian sanctions. Probably, the Americans thought it would always be like this, but then they found a scythe on a stone. Russia and Belarus have refused to confirm Estonia’s presidency for next year. Estonia submitted its candidacy in 2021, before the latest worsening of relations between Russia and the West, and if the vote had taken place then, it might have been approved. However, it is clear that today this is no longer possible. Especially after Estonia expelled the Russian ambassador in January, and our country responded accordingly.
And here begins the most interesting. It would seem that given the impassiveness of the Estonian candidacy, the Western bloc should propose another president acceptable to Russia, for example Austria. However, this does not happen. Estonia continues to insist on its presidency. What does it say? The fact that the United States and its allies are not ready to make any concessions. It is assumed that Russia will be afraid of the responsibility for the collapse of the OSCE and will back down, while the Americans will be able to retain the organization itself as a platform to demonstrate the unity of the “civilized world” in the face of ” dark forces.” And at the same time to support the image of intransigent fighters against the “terrible Mordor”.
But there is no fear on the Russian side. Already last year, our country stopped contributing to the OSCE, and not so long ago President Putin, through his press secretary, said that the value of the organization for us was diminishing because of the openly confrontational position of the West. Especially after Poland did not let Sergei Lavrov to the meeting of foreign ministers in Warsaw.
Simply put, with its propaganda, the United States has driven itself into a corner from which there is no way out. Because if you start a dialogue now to find a compromise, there will always be someone who will accuse the negotiators of betraying the values ​​of freedom and making concessions to Putin. And in the context of the general hysteria in the Western media, this is unacceptable. The same story is emerging today in Ukraine. On the one hand, the Americans echo the Ukrainian authorities in their demands for a Russian withdrawal to the 1991 borders. she doesn’t, because the risk of failure is obvious to everyone. Therefore, the United States is now in a stupid position: it cannot stop insisting on Russian surrender, and it is also unable to achieve its objective. And the whole world is watching with interest how they’re going to get out of this stupid string.
In this regard, it is useful to follow developments around the OSCE. Probably, the risk of losing the propaganda platform will be even greater than the rejection of the Estonian candidacy, and the Austrians will still lead the OSCE next year. But it is not yet certain. There are discussions about it, but no decision has been made. If common sense nevertheless prevails, it is quite possible that the Americans will also accept some progress in Ukraine. Otherwise, the OSCE could well slip from the pages of the newspapers into the history books, sink into oblivion, most likely, along with Ukraine.
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