Lavrov regrets OSCE colleagues refuse to discuss Russian initiatives, says they demonstrate bias
HAMBURG. Dec 9 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused a number of participants in the OSCE Ministerial Council's session of a biased attitude towards Russian initiatives and said he was confused by the refusal to discuss them.
"To be frank, we were expecting ministerial decisions to be solid and their package to be substantial. There is a risk so far this will not happen because certain delegations are suggesting artificial and inadmissible links," Lavrov told a press conference on Friday, on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council's session.
What is more, "it appeared at an early stage that bias determined the stance of certain delegations on our initiatives," the Russian minister said.
He reminded the media that Russia had submitted two draft resolutions, those on pluralism in the media and against discrimination in sports, for consideration by the OSCE Ministerial Council's session.
"These are absolutely obvious and correct things, which are even more necessary at a time when the situation in both areas is not so favorable," Lavrov said.
However, "we have not only failed to reach consensus; our proposals have not even been submitted for consideration by experts from all OSCE countries," he said.
"We deeply regret this," Lavrov said, nothing that the drafts proposed by Russia "are fully congruent with the OSCE mandate."