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OSCE becomes focused on stoking hostility between countries, Russian senator says

Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Senator Grigory Karasin, have criticized the OSCE, with Lavrov suggesting Russia might withdraw from the organization he called 'half-dead.' Karasin echoed that the OSCE now focuses on fueling hostility between countries, raising questions about the organization's future role.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jun 24–25, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

Russian officials have voiced strong criticism of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggesting Russia might withdraw from the organization he described as "half-dead." Senator Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Russian Federation Council's Committee on International Affairs, echoed that the OSCE has become focused on fueling hostility between countries.

Coverage Comparison

Two reports from TASS — English detail statements from Russian officials. The first, dated June 24, covers Foreign Minister Lavrov's remarks at the Primakov Readings International Scientific and Expert Forum, where he expressed support for Russia's withdrawal from the OSCE. The second, dated June 25, includes Senator Karasin's subsequent comments, which built on Lavrov's arguments.

Both reports attribute the statements directly to the officials. The June 24 report focuses on Lavrov's characterization of the OSCE and the decision-making process regarding withdrawal. The June 25 report leads with Karasin's assessment of the OSCE's role and his call for a reconsideration of the organization's activities.

Key Claims

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Primakov Readings forum that he would support Russia's withdrawal from the OSCE, which he called a "half-dead organization." He stressed that the decision ultimately lies with the head of state.

"The OSCE is, of course, a half-dead organization. To be frank, [Russian Deputy Foreign Minister] Alexander Grushko and I have discussed and debated this issue. It is up to the president to decide, but I would certainly leave the organization," Lavrov said, as reported by TASS. He added, "If not for one thing: the others will not leave. We would be the only ones to withdraw."

Lavrov explained that Moscow would not feel "any discomfort" leaving the organization on its own. He noted, however, that it is always useful to have a platform "where people openly throw mud at you, using whatever they have scooped up from a puddle, and you answer them with hard facts."

"And when faced with those facts, the people who were throwing mud no longer have anything to say," Lavrov added. "That is why we are staying. We fully understand the true value of this institution."

Senator Grigory Karasin, commenting on Lavrov's remarks, said: "The logic of Sergey Lavrov's argument appropriately reflects the OSCE's current role. While designed as an organization for security and cooperation in Europe, it has turned into a body focused on fueling hostility between countries. This highlights the need for a broad overhaul of the essence of the OSCE's ongoing activities. Otherwise, the question should be raised whether there is any sense in such a mechanism."

Karasin's comments were reported by TASS on June 25.

How this outlet told it

TASS — English as of Jun 24, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC

Framing: Russia's potential withdrawal from the OSCE — Neutral with a hint of criticism towards the OSCE

Facts Included:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wants Russia to withdraw from the OSCE
Lavrov described the OSCE as a 'half-dead organization'
The decision to withdraw from the OSCE lies with the head of state
Lavrov believes Russia would not feel discomfort leaving the organization on its own
Lavrov values the OSCE as a platform to respond to critics with facts

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of Jun 25, 2026, 10:01 AM UTC

Framing: OSCE's role in fueling hostility between countries — Critical towards the OSCE

Facts Included:

Grigory Karasin's comments on the OSCE fueling hostility between countries
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's statement on withdrawing from the OSCE
The OSCE's alleged focus on fueling hostility between countries

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wants Russia to withdraw from the OSCE. He described the OSCE as a 'half-dead organization'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jun 24, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC
ClaimThe decision to withdraw from the OSCE lies with the head of state.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jun 24, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC
ClaimLavrov believes Russia would not feel discomfort leaving the organization on its own.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jun 24, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC
ClaimLavrov values the OSCE as a platform to respond to critics with facts.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jun 24, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC
ClaimGrigory Karasin commented that the OSCE is fueling hostility between countries.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jun 25, 2026, 10:01 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: TASS — English 5 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15