MINSK, 7 July (BelTA) – Belarus does not recognize or support any resolution passed in its absence at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's 29th Annual Session, Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, head of Belarus' parliamentary delegation to OSCE PA Andrei Savinykh told reporters commenting on the outcomes of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's 29th Annual Session in Birmingham, the UK, BelTA has learned.
A reminder, the Belarusian delegation was denied the visas necessary to participate in the summer session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
“Belarus does not recognize or support any resolution passed in our absence at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's 29th Annual Session. We do not consider ourselves bound by any decisions taken on our country. Nevertheless, there is one very interesting collision in these documents. Here is a brief backstory. Taking part in the Parliamentary Assembly sessions are representatives of legislative bodies - parliamentarians. This means that these people must be very well familiar with the theory of law, the logic and fundamental principles of lawmaking. One of these principles is generally binding nature of laws, which means that laws should apply to all without exception. Of course, the resolutions of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly are not legislative acts, but it is a document that sets forth certain guidelines that can be used in the future,” Andrei Savinykh said.
Thus, the Birmingham Declaration brands Belarus as a co-aggressor and co-party to the international armed conflict, the MP noted. "This document totally contradicts the official report of the OSCE mission of experts of 11 April 2022, which, I quote verbatim, recognizes that ‘Belarus is not a party to the IAC, as long as it does not itself commit acts of violence or other acts that would constitute direct participation in the hostilities by persons attributable to Belarus'. Using the logic of the Birmingham Declaration, we can assume that NATO member states are also parties to the IAC by the mere fact that they supply weapons or share general intelligence information," he stressed.
"The delegations to the OSCE PA that took part in the summer session, in fact, threw this finding into question. The legal logic and the principle of the generally binding nature of legal findings, which, incidentally, can be clearly traced in the findings of the OSCE mission's report, leaves us with only one approach. If Belarus is a party to the conflict, then, in the view of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the countries that supply weapons to Ukraine are parties to the conflict too. This is a true sensation! The OSCE PA summer session put together a document that, on the basis of legal logic, recognizes the United States, Germany, France, Poland and all countries supplying weapons as parties to the conflict. A curious legal paradox," Andrei Savinykh stated.
It is difficult to predict the consequences of this phenomenally stupid act. It has already happened, it is impossible to fix anything, the MP continued. "Perhaps they will be able to sweep it under the carpet or distract attention. We will see what scenario the situation will follow," he added.
