OSCE MPs concerned over Russia’s “soft annexation” of Belarus

July 5, BPN. The “violently imperial and colonial” nature of Russia is fully manifested in the “soft annexation of Belarus,” says a resolution by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA).

MPs who convened for its 30th session in Vancouver from June 30 to July 4 condemned the Belarusian authorities’ “far-reaching support” of Russia’s war on Ukraine, including military logistics and provision of locations for Russian troops. “Belarus is thereby moving ever closer to the status of an active war party,” they noted.

Russia and Belarus “blatantly violated” the OSCE agreements on conventional arms transfers and non-proliferation that cover nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, MPs said.

The OSCE PA is “extremely alarmed” by Russia’s increasingly threatening nuclear rhetoric and nuclear arms deployment in Belarus as well as its earlier withdrawal from the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty and the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty.

The MPs noted continuing human suffering caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine “aided and abetted by Alaksandr Łukašenka and his illegitimate regime in Belarus.”

The OSCE PA also condemned the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Belarus. It urged Minsk to immediately return the children to Ukraine stressing that the abduction of children constitutes an “act of genocide.”

All OSCE member states should ensure accountability for Russian officials “responsible for this odious crime, as well as those of the Belarusian regime who are involved in these practices,” the resolution said.

It also noted concerns over Minsk’s use of illegal migration as a “hybrid tool against neighboring countries,” calling on OSCE executive bodies to address this threat.