Moscow: The Director of the European Affairs Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vladislav Maslennikov, affirmed that Russia cannot be excluded from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Maslennikov emphasized that the organization's structure and its decision-making processes uphold Russia's position within the OSCE.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Maslennikov pointed out that a minority of countries, specifically naming Poland and the Baltic states, are pushing for Russia's international isolation and exclusion from the OSCE. He described these countries as "fanatical Russophobes" but assured that their aspirations have no impact on the OSCE's procedural rules. These rules do not provide a mechanism for exclusion, and any decisions require unanimity, making it impossible to exclude any member state without consensus.

The OSCE, established in 1973, consists of 53 member states, encompassing all European nations along with the United States and Canada. The organization's long-standing principle of unanimity ensures that all member states, including Russia, maintain their positions unless a collective decision is reached.