MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will take part in an informal OSCE ministerial meeting in the Austrian town of Mauerbach on Tuesday, which is to be held at Austrian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Sebastian Kurz's initiative, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"Events in this format under the aegis of OSCE chairpersons-in-office have earlier been held in Corfu (2009), Almaty (2010), New York (2014), and Potsdam (2016). No decisions and documents are adopted at such meetings, and their objective is to informally exchange opinions at a high level on the state of affairs within the OSCE area of responsibility and discuss preparations for a Ministerial Council session, which will be held this year in Vienna on December 7-8," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a commentary.
The meeting at Mauerbach will be focused on 'Building Trust Through Dialogue and Co-operation'. "The plenary session will be devoted to this. Then the work will proceed in the format of roundtables on preventing violent extremism and radicalization leading to terrorism and also 'structured dialogue' on challenges to security," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The participants are also expected to consider the crisis in the area of European security.
"We intend to raise the issue of NATO's dangerous course toward Russia's military-political containment, which is manifested in the buildup of a military presence and infrastructure in regions bordering Russia and the growing intensity of military maneuvers involving the alliance's partner countries. Most of these exercises are anti-Russian and provocative in nature," it said.
"We expect that ways to overcome the European security crisis and normalization of inter-state relations will be considered at Mauerbach. We believe all available instruments should be employed for detente. We are sure that the OSCE should be fully engaged in this, as it has significant potential and is capable of serving as a forum for equal dialogue and for making decisions on security matters," it said.
Russia favors the OSCE's stronger role and authority and its higher commitment to international affairs, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "The establishment of a community of equal and indivisible security in keeping with the decision of the organization's summit in Astana in 2010 should remain a long-term goal for the OSCE countries. As concerns the current stage, its main objective should consist in restoring confidence between the states and preventing the wrong perception of each other's intentions. Russia is prepared for such a dialogue," it said.
The discussion will also be particularly focused on the so-called 'structured dialogue' on challenges to security, which the OSCE has started at Germany's initiative, it said.
"Russia is taking part in it and hopes that it will make a contribution to searching for ways of de-escalation of the military-political situation in Europe and lowering the level of confrontation. The success of this initiative depends fully on the partners' willingness to maintain an honest conversation without mutual accusations, including on military matters. We have proposed jointly assessing the threats and military doctrines of the OSCE countries and comparing the actual deployed military capabilities on the map of Europe, both in qualitative and quantitative terms," it said.
Special significance at the meeting will also be attached to the security situation in Europe, which is "also being complicated by growing transnational threats, such as terrorism, illegal drugs, organized crime, and a migration crisis," it said.
"It is necessary to increase the OSCE's profile in fighting terrorism within the framework of the UN's global efforts. We believe efficient countermeasures against terrorism are possible only within a broad international coalition based on international law, with respect for equitability and sovereignty of states and the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and assuming that the use of terrorists for political purposes is unacceptable," it said.
The participants also plan to address the harmonization of integration processes in the West and East of Eurasia, it said.
"The OSCE is an appropriate forum for promoting the concept of 'integration of integrations' capable of becoming an economic foundation of a future security commonwealth. A discussion on this account is already ongoing within the OSCE," the Foreign Ministry said.
"During the informal ministerial meeting, we intend to draw the participants' attention to disproportions in the work of the OSCE itself and its thematic and geographic misbalances. Russia is continuing to call for the organization's reform, which should include the development of an OSCE charter and the establishment of order in the work of its missions and institutions, the ODIHR's election monitoring, NGO involvement in OSCE events, and extra-budgetary project activities," it said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stands ready to work constructively on preparing a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna on December 7-8 and is "interested in making sure that it does not fall victim to the opportunistic political demands of certain countries," it said.
"We expect that the outlines of its agenda and a package of documents will be discussed at Mauerbach. We prioritize the fight against terrorism and other threats, harmonization of integration processes, and protection of traditional values, including opposition to dangerous trends of Christiano- and Islamophobia," it said.
Lavrov's possible bilateral contacts with foreign ministers from other countries on the sidelines of the OSCE informal ministerial meeting are also being explored, it said.