Russia still refuses to engage seriously on peace and continues to undermine the OSCE as a platform for dialogue: UK statement to the OSCE
Ambassador Holland highlights Russia’s ongoing refusal to engage seriously in peace talks, its escalation of attacks on Ukraine, and its misuse of the OSCE to spread disinformation. The UK reaffirms its support for Ukraine and calls for the OSCE to remain a forum for genuine dialogue.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Russia has had many opportunities to engage meaningfully in peace talks to end its illegal war in Ukraine. And each time, it has refused to do so: rejecting a proposed ceasefire offered by the US and Ukraine, refusing President Zelensky’s offer of a bilateral or trilateral meeting and repeating maximalist settlement demands that would amount to Ukraine’s capitulation.
Alongside its intransigence on peace talks, Russia has escalated its attacks against innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. And a kindergarten was among the sites struck yesterday in a bombardment that killed seven people, including two children.
We support President Trump and President Zelenskyy’s efforts to secure a just and lasting peace. As my Prime Minister and other European leaders said on Tuesday, we strongly agree with President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.
President Putin’s refusal to engage seriously with these efforts is yet further evidence that Ukraine is the only party serious about peace. Ukraine’s security is our security. Therefore, it is important to us that they remain as strong as possible. So, we will continue our support to Ukraine to ensure that it has the tools it needs to defend itself and remains resilient. We cannot allow the lesson from this conflict to be that aggression pays. We remain committed to the Helsinki principle that borders cannot be changed by force.
Madam Chair, I would also like to use this opportunity to condemn Russia’s use of this Council to spread accusations of false flag and sabotage operations linked to the UK and “the West”. We do not respond to each individual example of this because such unsubstantiated conspiracy theories are not deserving of a running commentary from their subjects. Everybody here knows that these accusations are designed to distract attention from Russia’s illegal war.
But the point I would like to register in all seriousness is that there is a more dangerous consequence to such claims. The OSCE should remain a useful platform for participating States to deliver and receive deterrence and risk-reduction messaging. It is far more difficult for these meetings to serve this purpose when we are inundated with Russian disinformation.
The OSCE must remain a forum for genuine dialogue. Using it as a stage for propaganda makes this vital function a lot harder.
Thank you.