Russia's aggression surpassed that of USSR in 1970s, FM Sikorski says
Russia displays greater aggression today than the Soviet Union did in the 1970s when the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) was founded, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Thursday.
The minister's statement came on Thursday, the first day of the two-day 32nd Ministerial Council meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) held in Vienna. Gathering top diplomats from 57 member states, the meeting focuses on the Ukraine war and the thousands of children Moscow has forcibly taken to Russia or Russia-controlled territories since the onset of its full-scale invasion.
According to Sikorski, the Helsinki Final Act, which proved pivotal for the establishment of the OSCE, became possible because both the USSR and the Soviet Bloc, at that time, were moving in what he described as the "right" direction. The minister added that both parties were shifting away from totalitarianism and the "export of revolution" and moving toward reforms.
The top diplomat went on, saying that "our" problem is that Russia chose the opposite direction, dragging itself towards totalitarianism and moving from coexistence to aggression.
He recalled during the gathering the Russian-engineered hybrid campaign against Poland and, when speaking with reporters after the meeting, described those incidents as "state terrorism."
The minister referred to September airspace violations and the November rail sabotage in Poland, both attributed to Moscow. He said the goal of last month's incidents was to cause human casualties, avoided only through the perpetrator's lack of competence.
Despite numerous calls from Poland and Ukraine to kick Moscow out of the OSCE, the December council saw the Russian representatives among the attendees.
Sikorski addressed their presence during his visit, saying the chamber in which the gathering takes place should not be a place for those seeking the empire of evil. He expressed satisfaction, however, that the Russian delegation had to hear the views of the democracies during the meeting. (PAP)
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