Putin and the OSCE

Czech politicians like to pound their chests and declare that Russia will not tell them what to do, but the CR is playing right into the bear's claws. By going against much of Europe in terms of missile defense and U.S. visa-related security enhancements, the CR is helping Russia to divide the continent. And now another flank of Russia's offensive is developing. Vladimir Putin said that missile defense isn't just a problem of U.S.-Russian relations but concerns all of Europe. He wants the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to take up the issue. For Putin, the OSCE is a way to shift the center of European affairs away from Brussels and more to the East. Hence his support for Kazakhstan's bid for the 2009 rotating OSCE presidency. Russia has long resented the way the OSCE "meddles" in post-Soviet affairs. Now, with the indirect help of the CR, Putin is turning it around and using the OSCE to meddle in Nato and EU affairs. [Czech Republic visa-waiver president chairmanship North Atlantic Treaty Organization European Union]