Estonia Not Ready To Give Up Candidacy For OSCE Chairmanship - Russian Envoy

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2023) Estonia was not ready to give up its candidacy to chair the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), but Moscow and Minsk would not allow Tallinn to assume the chairmanship, Russian Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich has told Sputnik.

Russia and Belarus have previously blocked Estonia from assuming the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2024.

"As of today, everyone is standing their ground. We, together with Belarus, once again said that we would not pass the candidacy of Estonia. It is necessary to look for other options, and it is logical. The European Union and some other 'backers' insist that only Estonia should chair," Lukashevich said.

He noted that Estonia has not submitted its bid for candidacy officially, as it is required by the rules of the organization.

"There was no application of (Estonian) President (Alar Karis) or Minister of Foreign Affairs (Margus Tsahkna) to all member states.

There were only talks, their ambassador spoke a couple of times and expressed the country's desire, but the OSCE member states have never received a formal bid," the diplomat said.

He added that "a bad precedent arises when the organization's members are trying to insist on the candidacy of Estonia not as a sovereign state but as a part of the EU and this Euro-Atlantic world."

"This is the first time we have found ourselves in such a difficult situation. Before that, there have always been solutions for the chairmanship. But today, the OSCE wants to impose its own world, which works according to the rules written in Western capitals. This, of course, does not suit us because the organization has rules, approved by all the ministers, and this is the 'book of life,'" he said.