Speech by the Delegation of the Russian Federation at the 32nd Annual Meeting on the Assessment of the Implementation of the Vienna Document-2011 on Confidence- and Security-building Measures

Opening session

Madam Chairman,

For three decades, the Annual Meeting on the Assessment of Implementation (ESA) The Vienna Document served as a unique platform for professional depoliticized discussions with the participation of the heads of the verification centers of the OSCE participating States, who gathered in Vienna to consider topical issues of the implementation of the agreed confidence- and security-building measures (CBMs). We regret to state that this year our colleagues deliberately decided to follow a different path. Already during the meeting dedicated to the opening of the EU, we heard rude slogans that are far from traditional concepts of diplomacy and fundamentally contradict the assurances of the Western participating states about their readiness for dialogue.

Well, I’ll have to answer them.

For a quarter of a century, the United States and its allies have deliberately followed the path of escalating tensions in relations with Russia. They ignored our legitimate concerns about the policy of NATO expansion and the approach of military infrastructure close to our borders. They acted contrary to the basic principles of the OSCE on the indivisibility of security. Contributed to the erosion of the arms control system. They are simply used to living with the understanding that there are only two opinions – this is theirs, right, and the other is wrong. They have forgotten how to listen and hear. Given the absolute incompetence of the “partners” and their lack of desire for a real strengthening of security in Europe on a collective basis, we categorically reject their attempts to accuse Russia of “aggressive actions”.

Before calling Russia to account and formulating new threats against us, NATO countries should answer for their military actions around the world, as well as for inaction in encouraging the Kiev regime to a peaceful settlement of the internal Ukrainian conflict. Since the middle of the last century, the United States has bombed about thirty states, while remaining the only country in the world to use nuclear weapons. The American invasion of Iraq in 2003 it happened in the wake of blatant lies and misinformation from the high rostrum of the UN, when the US Secretary of State shook a test tube under slogans about the development of chemical weapons in Iraq. Until now, members of the NATO bloc have not learned lessons from the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, when their main targets were civilian objects, cluster and high-explosive aerial bombs were widely used. A manifestation of a particularly inhumane mockery of the Serbian people was the fact that NATO pilots put inscriptions on bombs and missiles: “Do you still want to be Serbs?” or “Happy Easter!”. But Western colleagues have a short memory, and today they cynically tell us: “This is different.”

Madam Chairman,

The crisis in Ukraine did not begin five days ago. For eight years, Western countries have been indifferently watching the murders and mockery of thousands of civilians in the South-East of Ukraine. In fact, they became complicit in the genocide of the residents of the LPR and the DPR, sending tons of weapons and ammunition to the Kiev regime. Check out at least what the “Alley of Angels” in Donetsk is, erected in memory of the dead children – 102 boys and 50 girls. The intention of the NATO and EU countries to continue pumping Ukraine with weapons, including air defense systems and fighter jets, says one thing – the United States and its allies are not interested in resolving the crisis situation in this country.

Over the past years, the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance have continued to develop the territory of Ukraine to create an anti-Russian military bridgehead. Our country has repeatedly stated that Ukraine’s accession to NATO is a “red line”, the crossing of which will entail unpredictable consequences. Think about it: if Ukraine, as a member of the alliance, tried to resolve by force the issue of its declared territorial claims against Russia, it would lead to a direct clash between us and NATO. It has also always been unacceptable for us to deploy the military infrastructure of the bloc on Ukrainian territory. We put our concerns on paper and invited NATO countries to dispel them by providing Russia with legal security guarantees. But the alliance is not interested in building normal relations with our country.

Of course, the reasons for the current state of affairs are directly related to Kiev’s long-term sabotage of its obligations under the Minsk agreements. We have passed our part of the way and, as co-mediators, have made every effort for a peaceful settlement of the internal Ukrainian conflict, calling on Kiev to engage in dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk. But they didn’t listen to us. By the end of February, a very significant offensive grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) was pulled to the contact line in Donbass, a large-scale offensive began, accompanied by clashes and the use of large-caliber weapons in order to forcefully solve the “Donbass problem”. The “last straw” was the statements of the Kiev leadership at the Munich Security Conference about Ukraine’s claims to nuclear weapons.

It was simply impossible to tolerate all this. The People’s Republics turned to our country for help and protection. In this regard, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, in accordance with Article 51 of Part 7 of the UN Charter, with the sanction of the Federation Council of Russia and in pursuance of the treaties on friendship and mutual assistance with the DPR and LPR ratified by the Federal Assembly on February 22, made a balanced decision to conduct a special military operation. Its goal is to protect people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years, as well as to restore the purposes and principles of the UN Charter on the territory of Donbass and Ukraine.

I would like to emphasize that we are not talking about a military invasion, war or occupation, which some participating States persistently insist on. Our task is to complete the military operations launched by Kiev eight years ago through the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. In addition, during a special military operation, Russia exercises the right to self-defense against a regime that sought to obtain nuclear weapons. Thus, we ensure the implementation of the key task of international peace and security – the prevention of a new world war.

Madam Chairman,

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are taking – I stress – all possible measures to preserve the lives of civilians.

At the same time, the Russian Armed Forces record numerous war crimes of Ukrainian nationalists. Here are just a few of them.

– Cases of lynching and reprisals by nationalists over conscripts who do not want to fight to intimidate the personnel of the AFU units.

– At the instigation of military advisers of the Pentagon and the CIA, the Ukrainian military leadership places rocket artillery systems and other types of military equipment in residential areas to provoke retaliatory fire on local residents, uses civilians as a “human shield”. These techniques were used by the Nazis during World War II and are actively used by CIA-supervised terrorists in the Middle East and other countries.

– The Kiev nationalist regime massively and uncontrollably distributes automatic small arms, grenade launchers and ammunition to everyone, including criminals specially released from prisons. The nationalists’ involvement of the population of Ukraine in hostilities inevitably leads to accidents, looting, rampant banditry and victims.

– Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have begun the mass use of ammunition filled with phosphorus in the suburbs of Kiev near the Gostomel airfield. They use 122-mm shells for D-30 howitzers and rockets for BM-21 “Grad” installations. The use of these munitions is prohibited by the third Protocol of the 1980 UN Convention on Inhumane Weapons.

– On the evening of February 25, during the evacuation of eighty-two Ukrainian servicemen who voluntarily laid down their arms from Zmeiny Island, 16 boats of the Ukrainian Navy tried to attack the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, and some of the attacking Ukrainian boats acted under the cover of civilian vessels.

These are the grossest violations of international humanitarian law that remain on the conscience of the Maidan regime.

We consider the statements of a number of participating states condemning Russia’s actions inappropriate. Although, apart from spreading fakes and indulging the statements of the Ukrainian leadership that the residents of Donbass should “rot in basements” (P. Poroshenko), are “inhumans” and “individuals” (V. Zelensky), we no longer expect anything from them. In these conditions, we are ready for any development of events. The necessary response will be given to the sanctions pressure from the West.

Madam Chairman,

Directly on the topic of today’s meeting, we consider it necessary to note that, attacking Russia with far-fetched accusations of “non-compliance” with the Vienna Document of 2011 on Confidence- and Security-building Measures (VD-2011), our Western and Ukrainian colleagues adhere to double standards.

It would seem that the very name of the ECOV contains the meaning of the functioning of this platform, namely, the assessment of the implementation of the provisions of the Vienna Document over the past year. Unfortunately, we are witnessing how this goal is devalued, the discussion is transferred to the discussion of secondary issues, and the main problems are hushed up.

So, for a number of years we have been paying attention to blatant violations of 26 paragraphs of the Document by Ukraine, but there has not been a single discussion of such violations on the merits at the OSCE site.

1. We refer to such violations, for example, Ukraine’s failure to provide the information required by the VD-2011 on the planned increase in the number of personnel.

Let me remind you: in accordance with paragraph 10.3 of the Vienna Document-2011, each Participating State will separately notify of planned increases in the number of personnel for a period exceeding 21 days, in cases where such an increase will be more than 1,000 people for each regular combat unit and more than 3,000 people for each regular formations.

In particular, in the period from 2014 Ukraine has violated clause 10.3 of the VD-2011 22 times by not sending notifications to the participating States about the increase in the staffing of its formations.

2. We also drew attention to the fact that in the period from 2014 Ukraine has only twice sent F25 notifications (2018 and 2020) about its military activities carried out in the areas of the cities of Vinnytsia, Sumy and Odessa, with the participation of 700 and 2,100 people, respectively. We see that this information belongs to the category of “insignificant” and, in our opinion, is only an imitation of the implementation of the Vienna Document.

During the same period of time, Ukraine has not sent a single notification of military activities (and in fact, military actions) and the concentration of troops/forces in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions as defined by paragraphs 38-46.2 of the 2011 VD.

Let me remind you: in accordance with paragraphs 38-46.2 of the Vienna Document-2011, each Participating State will notify 42 days or more before the start of the notified military activity in cases where at least 9 thousand people, 250 battle tanks, 500 armored combat vehicles or 250 units take part in such activities. artillery caliber of 100 mm and above.

3. Also in the period from 2014 Ukraine has not invited observers, as is clearly stated in paragraphs 47-60 of the VD-2011, to monitor the military activities that it has been conducting since 2014 on the territory of Donbass.

Let me remind you: in accordance with paragraphs 47-60 of the Vienna Document 2011, each participating State will invite observers to monitor notified military activities when the number of participating forces exceeds 13 thousand people, 300 battle tanks, 500 armored combat vehicles or 250 units. artillery caliber of 100 mm and above.

And only in 2017 Ukraine has invited on a voluntary basis two observers only from those states with which it has bilateral agreements (Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania) to participate in the observation of the Rapid Trident 2017 exercise in the Lviv region.

4. Since the beginning of the punitive operation in the south-east, Ukraine, in violation of paragraph 68 of the Vienna Document-2011, has not sent a single notification of military activities involving more than 40 thousand people or 900 combat tanks, or 2 thousand BBM, or 900 artillery pieces of 100 mm caliber and above.

Let me remind you: in accordance with paragraph 68 of the Vienna Document-2011, each Participating State will notify all participating States of military activities subject to prior notification, in which more than 40 thousand people or 900 combat tanks, or 2 thousand BBM, or 900 artillery pieces of 100 mm caliber and above participate.

5. Since 2014, by conducting a punitive operation in the Donbas and not providing notification as defined in paragraph 68, Ukraine has thereby violated paragraph 70 of the Vienna Document 2011.

Let me remind you: in accordance with paragraph 70 of the Vienna Document-2011, the State Party will not conduct military activities subject to prior notification, in which more than 40 thousand people or 900 combat tanks, or 2 thousand BBM, or 900 artillery pieces of 100 mm caliber and higher participate if it has not provided notification of such activities.

Attempts by the Ukrainian side to “cover up” non-compliance with the Vienna Document with some “voluntary transparency measures”, and in fact propaganda tours for military representatives of the curator countries, are untenable.

“Not noticing” all these violations, the Western OSCE participants de facto encouraged the militarization and Nazification of Ukraine, terror and murder by the Kiev regime. And this slippery road led him to the current deplorable result.

In conclusion, let me emphasize again: the Russian Federation did not start military operations in Ukraine, it is completing them. The settlement will be possible only on condition of demilitarization, denazification, neutrality of Ukraine, as well as recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea.

Thank you, Madam Chairman, and I ask you to attach this statement to the Journal of today’s meeting.

Source: https://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1802508/