The Romanian authorities will not allow the Russian and Belarusian delegations to participate in the 31st annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The event will be held in Bucharest from June 29 to July 3.
The ban applies to all members of the delegations, parliamentarians, and even technical staff - they are all denied visas, reports the Romanian Foreign Ministry.
"The decision of the Romanian side is based on Romania's well-known and consistent position towards the Russian Federation, in the context of the ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. Also, some members of the Russian delegation in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly are subject to restrictive measures at the level of the European Union. The decision is also directed against Belarus, which is a supporter of the war started by the Russian Federation," emphasized Foreign Ministry spokesman Radu Filip.
The Russian side has already managed to condemn Romania's decision and called it an "unfriendly step" and a "gross violation of commitments" within the OSCE. Russian Senator Grigory Karasina says such actions by the Romanian authorities "damage the authority" of the Parliamentary Assembly.
The OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) was established during the Cold War as a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between East and West. It brings together 320 parliamentarians from 56 countries in the OSCE region, including Europe, Asia, and North America. Russia and Belarus joined the OSCE (then the CSCE) in 1992, just after the collapse of the USSR.
