MOSCOW, 14 January (BelTA) – The way the OSCE reacted to the latest events in Kazakhstan was shameful, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference for Russian and foreign journalists in Moscow on 14 January, BelTA has learned.
“We have already commented on this situation and filed a formal presentation with the OSCE, primarily its representative on freedom of the media," said Sergey Lavrov when asked about the OSCE's reaction to the pogroms in the editorial offices of several media outlets by rioters in Kazakhstan. “It was really a disgrace for an organization that positions itself as a beacon. The West describes the OSCE as the ‘gold standard'. It has once again tuned to be a double standard rather than gold one."
“When the riots turned violent, when rioters started threatening the lives of journalists and caused physical injuries, they [the OSCE] kept silent. When the CSTO helped Kazakhstan to calm down and normalize the situation, arrest instigators and perpetrators of violent actions, the OSCE began to call for peace,” the Russian foreign minister said.
According to him, the OSCE has become a conduit of Western interests. “The OSCE must get rid of this reputation of being a tool for promoting Western interests, which the organization has earned in recent years,” Sergey Lavrov stressed. He pointed that the membership of the OSCE Secretariat is discriminatory against Russia and other CSTO countries. “We will be fighting against it,” he said.
