Russia’s repeated use of offensive and baseless language is disrespectful and undermines diplomatic dialogue: UK statement to the OSCE

Thank you, Mr Chair.

The UK continues to stand with Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's illegal war of aggression. Since our last meeting, Russian attacks on Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure have continued, resulting in further civilian fatalities. And President Putin continues to demonstrate that he is not serious about peace, having failed to engage in President Trump's most recent proposals for meaningful peace talks.

Weekly, we object to this and encourage a move to the negotiating table. In return we are forced to listen to the repeated use of offensive and historically loaded terms. References to Nazism have become a fixture of Russia's statements - including more than ten mentions during last week's meeting alone.

Russia appears to have a very different understanding of the characteristics of Nazism than most of us in this room. For them the definition includes daring to challenge Russia's control of historical memory. The Kremlin has cultivated this narrative for decades alongside a foundational myth of WWII as a military and moral victory of the Soviet Union, and by extension, Russia. The Kremlin narrative is that it is defending Ukrainians from Nazism. This is completely untrue for reasons I and others have made clear on previous occasions.

Mr Chair, not only is the continued use of this language factually baseless, but it is also deeply disrespectful to the victims of Nazi repression. There is also a danger in trivialising the horrors of Nazism by applying the term to any and all adversaries. It risks eroding our collective ability to identify and respond to genuine threats. This is a danger to us all, including to Russia itself.

And quite frankly, such name-calling is unbecoming of a serious diplomatic exchange. It undermines the dignity of the OSCE, is inconsistent with our Rules of Procedure, and diminishes this place as a platform for serious dialogue.

Before I conclude, I wish to pay tribute to Germany for the extraordinary efforts it has made to come to terms with its history. Germany's commitment to remembrance, education, and reconciliation stands as a model for us all and is worthy of deep respect. They do not deserve to have this difficult part of their history trivialised by the reckless misuse of terms that carry such weight and consequence.

In closing, I appeal to Russia to cease the use of these insults within the OSCE. If you wish to use this forum for serious exchange, we urge you to desist from deploying such playground rhetoric. The OSCE is a place for dialogue. Let us restore some dignity to our discussions here.

Thank you, Mr Chair.