russia chose war despite all efforts to prevent it — OSCE Secretary General

russia's war against Ukraine was not caused by the failure of OSCE conflict prevention instruments or any other international mechanism, as russia simply chose in favor of an aggressive war, despite all efforts to prevent it.

OSCE Secretary General Helga Mária Schmid stated this, Ukrinform reports.

"We are always looking for ways to improve our work, but I have already said, and I want to clearly state, that this war was not caused by the failure of the OSCE conflict prevention tools or any other international mechanism," Schmid commented on the question of how effectively the OSCE's mechanisms worked to prevent a russia's war against Ukraine.

Schmid noted that as tensions grew, she "repeatedly expressed at the Permanent Council of the OSCE meetings her deep concern about the increase of the military presence on the borders of Ukraine."

"On February 14, I sent an official early warning to the OSCE ambassadors, noting the growing prospects of escalation and violence in the region. This was only the third time in history that this tool was used," she said.

At that time, at the request of the Ukrainian authorities, OSCE staff also remained in Ukraine — both from the Project Coordinator team and the Special Monitoring Mission, which at that time was still on the ground and included representatives from 40 countries.

"However, it was russia that made a choice in favor of launching an aggressive war against Ukraine, despite all our efforts aimed at preventing it. As the Acting Chairman of the OSCE, Minister Rau clearly stated that no instruments or formats could be effective when "one state is determined to destroy, not build," the OSCE Secretary General said.

She also stressed that "this war is against everything we stand for – and everything we've worked for since we first came together during the Cold War — not as allies, but as nations that disagreed but were interested in finding ways to overcome differences and build trust."

The OSCE Secretary General also pointed out that now, when russia is waging war against Ukraine, reaching a consensus in the Organization "is an even more difficult task than ever." And the position of the russian federation has a real impact on how the OSCE works at various levels.

Read more in detail in the interview with Helga Maria Schmid at the link.