Russia has submitted a package of reform proposals to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to ease the internal rift of the 55-member group, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"Russia submitted a detailed plan of OSCE reform aimed at adapting its political agenda to modern threats and challenges and turning the OSCE into a credible international organization operating for the benefit of all its members by clear rules fully reflecting its interstate nature," said the statement.

The Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko presented the proposals at high-level intergovernmental consultations of OSCE member states in Vienna on Sept. 12-13, according to the Interfax news agency.

The consultations focused on drawing up an OSCE charter, updating the organization's agenda, transforming its secretariat and improving its field missions.

On Wednesday, Belarussian Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Gaisenok also warned that the OSCE should remain a forum for discussing security problems rather than become a punitive tool in relations with some countries.

"The OSCE was set up as a forum for dialogue, and we cannot welcome the transformation of the forum into a bludgeon," Gaisenok said in reference to what he termed as "attempts to use the organization to put political pressure on its member states."

The Belarussian diplomat also criticized the work the OSCE did in the past one and a half decades for "an obvious slant towards the 'humanitarian basket', while military-political and economic aspects had been moved to the background."

For the past year, the OSCE has been plunged into a struggle that has pitched Russia and some former Soviet countries against most other members.

Russia and other countries accuse the OSCE of applying double standards by focusing on promoting democratic institutions in eastern Europe and ignoring such issues outside the former Soviet sphere.

Russia is critical of the group in carrying out election monitoring in a "politicized" manner." The OSCE has said Russia's parliamentary and presidential elections in recent years fell short of democratic standards. OSCE observers noted flaws in elections in Ukraine and Georgia, leading to new polls won by pro-Western leaders. OSCE monitors also criticized an election in Kyrgyzstan, where protests eventually led to the president's resignation.

In July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with OSCE chairman Dimitrij Rupel that the group had agreed to step up its security and economic activities, addressing Russia's concern that the trans-Atlantic body has placed too much emphasis on human rights and democracy promotion.

The meeting came two weeks after an OSCE panel, appointed following criticism from Russia and other former Soviet countries, considered several reforms.

Rupel said he hoped a plan would be finalized in December at an OSCE meeting, where he said the issue would top the agenda.

Source: Xinhua