"Violates all basic principles": the Russian Federation and Belarus blocked the election of Estonia by the OSCE Chairman

The Estonian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Bretti Sarapou said the OSCE Foreign Ministers will take place next week in Skopje, where this issue will be on the agenda again. However, the situation is unclear. At a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which took place in Vienna on November 21, the Russian Federation, together with the Republic of Belarus, vetoed the approval of Estonia by the next OSCE chairman in 2024.

This was reported by Estonia Sarapou Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in an Err comment. "Russia and Belarus have vetoed Estonia during the vote of ambassadors," Sarapou said. Since decisions in the OSCE are made by consensus, it was not possible to choose Estonia with the head of the organization. Answering the question what would happen next, Sarapou acknowledged that the situation was unclear.

"Since Estonia is also a common candidate for the European Union, we will certainly discuss it with other EU countries," Sarapou said. She also said that the OSCE Foreign Ministers in Skopje, the capital of Northern Macedonia, which is currently the chairman of the organization, would be held next week. This issue is expected to be on the agenda again.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tahkna and the chairman of the Rygicogu Commission on Foreign Affairs, Marco Mikhkelson, commenting on the situation that countries should not be pressured by the Russian Federation.

"Russia has been blocking the work of the whole organization by its actions, since Moscow has not allowed the budget of the organization for several years, to organize official OSCE measures, continue field missions, and has put an end to all OSCE missions in Ukraine that has been a victim of Russian aggression," Tsakhkna said. In his opinion, the OSCE must firmly defend its basic values ​​and concessions to the aggressor.