Russia’s parliament, the Duma, is set to vote on Feb 21 on suspending the country’s participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE). The OSCE, an international organization consisting of 57 member states including Ukraine, the US, and Russia, was created as a successor to a Cold War-era organization. However, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the OSCE has been largely paralyzed due to Moscow’s ongoing use of veto power. Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin criticized the OSCE and argued for Russia’s withdrawal from the Parliamentary Assembly, stating that the organization lacks independence, is politicized, and dances to the tune of Washington. He also highlighted that Russia is one of the largest contributors to the organization. The resolution to suspend participation and stop Moscow’s payments to the OSCE is expected to pass easily given the overwhelming majority of the ruling United Russia party in the Russian parliament. Additionally, the Duma statement suggested that Russia may consider leaving other international organizations as well, although no specific organizations were mentioned. The strained relationship between Russia and the OSCE can be seen in Ukraine and its Baltic allies’ refusal to attend the OSCE annual foreign ministers meeting last year due to the presence of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. For more information, read the full article.