The OSCE Stated the Highest Risk of War in 30 Years

The OSCE Council meeting is discussing challenges for the Organization and the Russian Federation’s demands on security guarantees. Europe is currently facing the highest threat of war in the last 30 years, OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said on Thursday, January 13. “As of today, the participating states face a particularly grave mix of challenges to peace and security. Protracted conflicts, military confrontations, radicalization, terrorism, together with ongoing erosion of the arms-control regimes, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and profound violations of fundamental rights and freedoms are leading to rising uncertainty, unpredictability, fragmentation and growing fears in our societies,” Rau said. “It seems that the risk of war in the OSCE area is now greater than ever before in the last 30 years.” Rau stated that the OSCE needs to focus on efforts to solve security problems in Eastern Europe, in particular, to enable a peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. “We should focus on a peaceful resolution of the conflict around Ukraine in accordance with the Minsk agreements and with full respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine,” he said. “For several weeks we have been faced with the prospect of a major military escalation in Eastern Europe. We have recently received demands for security guarantees which relate to an important part of the OSCE area,” Rau said. Further, he noted that the situation with a possible military escalation in the region requires “an international assessment and an appropriate response.” As reported, Russia’s demands for security guarantees will be discussed at the OSCE meeting. Earlier this week, Russia held meetings with the United States and NATO. The Kremlin called them unsuccessful. Корреспондент