"[This is possible] provided that the political agenda and structures of the OSCE are considerably reformed, returning the organization to its fundamentals," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Chizhov said at a conference, 30 Years of the Helsinki Process: the OSCE's Contribution to Solving Problems in the Changing World, in Vienna.
The Russian diplomat said Russia's position on the OSCE had undergone a "romantic" phase, when it hoped the organization would become the backbone of security in the Euro-Atlantic region.
Chizhov expects OSCE member states to "display political will and prepare their national initiatives for September's intergovernmental summit in order to adopt, at the Council of Foreign Ministers in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in December, the first set of decisions that would improve the OSCE's effectiveness in reaching agreements and in determining procedures and timelines for further comprehensive work to reform the organization."
