Thank you, Chair and Secretary-General, for your leadership in difficult times.
This meeting is our annual moment to take stock of security in the Euro-Atlantic area.
There have been moments of light. The year has seen voters in Armenia, Hungary and Moldova defeat interference in their democracy. Real steps towards peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Ukraine and Moldova open a new chapter in their relations with the EU.
But Russia’s unprovoked, illegal war against Ukraine is now in its fifth year. A war that has now gone on longer than the First World War, longer than the Soviet role in the Second World War. About which our Russian colleague knows so many facts. And of course we should not count the days of Russia’s aggression from 2022 but 2014, or earlier.
We stand, as always, in solidarity with Ukraine and its people, who have suffered so much.
The Kremlin gains nothing by continuing. Every month that passes leaves 35,000 Russian soldiers dead or injured. Russia’s economy in worse decline, its young people denied opportunity. Its army ever more reliant on North Korea, Iran and China.
On Sunday, Russia’s target was the monastery of the Dormition, dating back to the 11th Century. The same night two state cinema organisations. And a well-known art institution, the Mistetski Arsenalna. Three years ago, I saw for myself the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, another World Heritage Site, with a hole in the ceiling where a missile had hit. Icons in tatters. Prayer stalls under the rubble.
Putin’s war is not just against Ukraine but its culture. And against the civilisation of all of us. But it is also a war that is making Ukraine’s identify, its resolve, stronger than ever. And our resolve too. What history should have taught our Russia colleague is that the will of peoples to defend their freedom and security will always be stronger than the will of those who want to take it away.
The threats posed by the war are not limited to Ukraine. Russia is eroding norms we all benefit from by its routine use of intermediate-range ballistic missiles and its strikes against civilian populations. Last week, a drone hit the Chornobyl fuel store – a nuclear site, in the exclusion zone, far from any military activity, on the border of Belarus. Days before, a Russian drone hit a tower block in a city in Romania. Many of our countries have been the victim of acts of Russian sabotage. Poland, of a cyber attack on its energy infrastructure. Barely a week goes by without reckless behaviour by Russian jets.
Helsinki principles remain, as they have for half a century, a beacon of hope and stability. They need upholding, not changing. The OSCE remains a vital place where we can tell truths and hold each other to account.
We are confident that the arc of history will bend toward justice. Ukraine has stopped Russia’s advances. Allies have never been more generous with their support.
As the current Chair of the Security Committee, the UK has sought to uphold OSCE principles and support Ukraine, and other victims, of Putin’s war. Exposed the growing hybrid threats – on which the OSCE should do more. As it should help states to tackle illegal migration.
In September, we look forward to taking on the Chair of the Forum for Security Co-operation. Our priorities will be to support these OSCE principles and support Ukraine, hold Russia to account, and promote responsible security management.
Chair, it will be an honour for us to chair both formal committees of the OSCE’s Pol-Mil Dimension and we look forward to working with you all. Thank you.
