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The Russian foreign minister issued the stark warning during talks in Moscow with the Swiss chair of the security body
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets with OSCE officials in Moscow, February 6, 2026. © Getty Images / Sergey Guneev; RIA Novosti
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is in a “profound” crisis and close to unraveling, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on Friday during talks with the body’s leadership.
Speaking to OSCE Chairman-in-Office Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary-General Feridun Sinirlioglu, who arrived in Moscow on Thursday for what they described as dialogue on the Ukraine conflict, Lavrov suggested that there are too many examples to mention of how the organization has “come close to the real threat of self-destruction.”
The reason for this is “very simple” and is due to the “radical departure of most Western countries” from the foundational principles and declarations of the organization, Lavrov added.
The OSCE, a 57-member body that includes Russia, the US, Canada, and most European and Central Asian states, was created in 1975 to promote security and cooperation across the region. However, Moscow has repeatedly accused the organization of being hijacked by its NATO and EU members to advance Western interests at the expense of pan-European goals.
Read moreKiev’s European backers preparing for talks with Putin – Macron
In December, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko said the OSCE was effectively being turned into an instrument of “hybrid war and coercion” against sovereign states, who are “subjected to threats, blackmail, and the harshest pressure using the lowest methods,” for pursuing their national interests.
He also condemned what he called the total “Ukrainization” of the agenda of the OSCE, saying it had narrowed the organization’s work and reduced cooperation to “tiny islands” of engagement.
Talks between Lavrov and the OSCE officials continued on Friday. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously explained that the discussions are focused on “searching for ways to overcome the current deep crisis of the OSCE” and restoring its operations in the “military-political, economic-environmental, and humanitarian, security dimensions.”
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6 Feb, 2026 14:02
Kremlin comments on ‘constructive’ Abu Dhabi talks
The Ukraine settlement process is “very challenging” but work will continue, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said
© Getty Images/brunocoelhopt
The latest trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in Abu Dhabi were challenging but constructive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
The second round of three-way discussions on settling the Ukraine conflict was held on Wednesday and Thursday in the UAE. Like the first round in January, the negotiations were conducted behind closed doors, with no side sharing details of the process. However, Moscow confirmed Thursday that the sides had agreed to a prisoner exchange of 314 POWs, which took place later that day.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Peskov said the settlement process remains a work in progress.
“The work continues,” he stated. “We were working for two days. It was constructive and at the same time very challenging. It will go on.”
READ MORE: Freed Russians return from Ukraine after prisoner exchange (VIDEOS)
Also commenting on the talks, US special envoy Steve Witkoff called them “detailed and productive.” He announced that Moscow and Washington had agreed to restore a military-to-military dialogue, suspended prior to the escalation of the conflict, calling it “crucial to achieving and maintaining peace.”
Witkoff added that while “significant work remains,” steps such as the prisoner exchange “demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results.” He said he expected “additional progress” in the coming weeks.
Neither Russia nor the US has so far commented on the possible location or timing of the next round of talks. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on Thursday suggested the talks could be held in the US, but did not provide a timeline.
Read moreWashington and Moscow re-establish high-level military contacts – US command
Both Russia and the US have previously confirmed that territorial issues remain the main sticking point in the peace process. Moscow insists any settlement must include Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Donbass regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which voted to join Russia in 2022, while Kiev has refused to consider concessions.
Zelensky claimed this week that “Ukraine is ready” for substantive discussions on a settlement, although Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed doubt in an RT interview on Wednesday, saying Zelensky “thinks about nothing except his own survival.” Lavrov accused Kiev of issuing ever new demands and its European backers of constantly “moving the goalposts” in the talks, stalling the peace process.
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