MOSCOW

The chair and secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) arrived Thursday in Moscow, according to officials.

“After our visit to Ukraine, I arrived in Moscow today together with OSCE Secretary-General [Feridun] Sinirlioglu. Dialogue requires engagement with all sides,” Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who is OSCE chair, said on Telegram.

Cassis added that the visit reflects “how the OSCE reaffirms its role as a platform for dialogue and its readiness to support efforts toward a just and lasting peace, in line with international law and the Helsinki Principles.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said the meeting will focus on overcoming a crisis within the OSCE, which it described as "a result of the destructive policies of the West, which has hijacked the Organisation’s resources to serve the narrowly focused objectives of the EU and NATO."

It confirmed Wednesday that the OSCE officials would visit Moscow, and the agenda would include discussions on ways “to overcome the current deep crisis of the OSCE.”