OSCE chief opposes Russia's expulsion from the organisation

This was reported by Die Welt citing an interview with the secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Helga Maria Schmid.

She agrees that Russia attacked Ukraine and that Moscow is the aggressor in this war.

At the same time, she claims that there is allegedly no suspension mechanism in the OSCE that could be used to exclude Russia.

This is also because we are not a like-minded organisation like the EU or NATO. The OSCE came out of a Cold War confrontation, it was founded by countries that had very different interests but wanted to prevent escalation.

The official also believes that open channels of communication should be left with Russia, because one day they might be needed.