One of the topics that Germany has pushed for the broad discussions this week under the OSCE framework is a new arms control agreement with Russia to prevent an arms race in Europe amid tensions over Crimea and Ukraine.
"We expect our German partners to set out their initiative in more detail and to formulate a concept for this dialogue. We also want to see the reaction of those NATO member states whose actions have resulted in deadlocking and freezing the arms control dialogue. Russia is open to discussions of international security based on equality and mutual respect for one another’s interests," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Another important topic on the agenda is settling of the conflicts in the OSCE member states.
Russia also welcomed the inclusion of the refugee issue in the agenda of the OSCE meeting of foreign ministers.
"We believe that the OSCE can contribute to the efforts to analyze the root causes of the migration crisis, to outline methods to overcome its consequences and to guarantee the migrants’ fundamental rights," the ministerial statement continued.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also expects to discuss humanitarian dimension of the OSCE activities.
Russia together with Belarus and Kazakhstan prepared draft decisions on prevention of discrimination in sport. Russia also proposes adopting two declarations on preventing discrimination against Christians and Muslims.
On threshold of the Ministerial Council, Russia called for settling the issue of the OSCE’s legal status so that it became a full-fledged international organization.
