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The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 July 2026.

Ambassador Holland commends the OSCE Mission to Serbia for its sustained work and continued focus on democratic governance, rule of law, media freedom, security sector reform and minority rights.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

I welcome Ambassador Peško to the Permanent Council and thank him for his comprehensive report. We commend the OSCE Mission to Serbia for its sustained work and continued focus on democratic governance, rule of law, media freedom, security sector reform and minority rights.

The report illustrates both the value of the Mission’s work and the challenging operating context. The UK remains concerned by the deepening political polarisation and tensions that have accompanied the ongoing protest movement. It is important to protect freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and the independence of democratic institutions, including the judiciary.

We are particularly concerned by the deterioration in media freedom, and the rise in the number of attacks against journalists described in the report. We welcome the Mission’s efforts to keep the Permanent Working Group on the Safety of Journalists functioning and its support for practical mechanisms that protect media professionals. Independent media and the safety of journalists are essential safeguards of democratic accountability. We encourage the Serbian government to facilitate the better operation of institutions dealing with attacks on journalists.

The United Kingdom welcomes progress towards re-establishing the Council of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media, and is grateful to the Representative on Freedom of the Media for his active engagement on this issue. A credible, independent and effective regulator is vital for public confidence, media pluralism and the implementation of electoral reforms. The Council should be allowed to carry out its mandate and resolve outstanding issues without interference.

On elections and democratic governance, we note the Mission’s support for reforms to electoral legislation and the Unified Voters’ Register. These are important steps. However, as ODIHR have underlined, significant recommendations remain outstanding. Comprehensive electoral reform, implemented well in advance of future elections and in consultation with opposition parties and civil society, remains essential.

We thank the Mission for its valuable work to improve the rights of minority communities and increase their representation in public institutions. These programmes help build trust between communities and strengthen Serbia’s long-term resilience. We also commend the Mission’s work on community policing, youth engagement and women’s participation in security institutions.

We reiterate our call for Serbia and Kosovo to engage constructively in the EU-facilitated Dialogue and to implement their existing commitments. We also urge public officials to refrain from provocative, revisionist or harmful language in public statements, which risks deepening divisions and undermining reconciliation. We continue to call for full accountability for the 2023 Banjska attack.

Finally, we thank Ambassador Peško and his team for their professionalism and dedication. The Mission remains an important partner and a valuable contributor to security and stability across the region.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 30 July 2026.

Ambassador Holland argued that Russia’s war against Ukraine reflects a long-standing pattern of challenging the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighbouring states. Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia demonstrate a disregard for OSCE commitments and the principle that borders cannot be changed by force.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Last week, a group of my colleagues and I visited Ukraine. We saw the reality of Russia’s war first hand. We visited communities where Russian strikes have destroyed homes. We met former prisoners of war and the families of civilians arbitrarily detained by Russia, including the families of OSCE staff members whom Russia has unlawfully detained for more than four years. We again call for their immediate and unconditional release.

The visit was an opportunity to see the consequences of Russia’s actions at first hand. Understanding those consequences also requires an honest assessment of their causes, something which I will offer today.

Russia has argued that we should look beyond 2022 to understand its war against Ukraine. We agree that context and history matter, so let us examine them.

Russia’s behaviour prior to 2022 is part of a broader pattern, extending beyond Ukraine.

In Moldova, Russian military forces became involved in the conflict on the left bank of the Nistru more than three decades ago. Russia later committed at the Istanbul Summit to withdraw its forces, yet military personnel remain on Moldovan territory without the consent of the Moldovan Government.

In Georgia, Russian forces crossed internationally recognised borders in 2008. Russia subsequently recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states and entrenched its military presence there occupying 20% of Georgian sovereign territory.

Ukraine is part of the same story.

In 1994, Russia committed to respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and existing borders. Twenty years later, following political upheaval in Kyiv, Russia seized Crimea and attempted to annex it. It then supported and sustained armed conflict in eastern Ukraine for the following eight years.

Russia has sought to justify those actions by claiming that the events of 2014 amounted to an “unconstitutional coup”. This is false. Despite the unprecedented situation, Ukraine’s institutions continued to function. Presidential and parliamentary elections were held, and Ukrainians freely chose successive governments after 2014 through democratic processes recognised by the international community. There was no line in the sand moment. Just a democratic process. Whatever interpretation Russia offers of Ukraine’s domestic politics, it cannot justify violating Ukraine’s sovereignty or redrawing its borders by force using the pretext of a coup.

When we take the longer and broader view of Russia’s behaviour, it becomes clear that the roots of the war relate to a fundamental question: whether countries that Russia regards as falling within its “sphere of influence” have the right to determine their own future. The full-scale invasion was the latest and most devastating manifestation of Russia’s answer to that question.

This war was not caused by a single political crisis, nor by a breakdown in diplomacy. It reflects a deeper disagreement about the rules that govern relations between states in the OSCE area.

Russia helped to shape those principles and freely subscribed to them. From Helsinki to Paris, from Budapest to Istanbul, the record is clear. States are sovereign. Borders cannot be changed by force. Those principles are not new. Nor is there any ambiguity to them.

The question is whether Russia is prepared to abide by those commitments it has repeatedly undertaken. Until it does, discussions about the roots of this war will continue to lead to the same conclusion: the problem was never the rules themselves, but Russia’s decision to disregard them.

Finally, Mr Chair, I condemn Russia’s continued bombardment of Ukraine, including the mass attack overnight that killed multiple civilians, and a recent strike that damaged the Latvian Consulate in Sloviansk. Russia’s reckless actions continue to have consequences beyond Ukraine. On three consecutive days beginning on 24 July, drones entered Romanian airspace and were subsequently shot down by Romanian F-16s. The first was identified as a Shahed-type drone used by Russia; investigations into the other two incidents are ongoing. We stand in full solidarity with Romania, Latvia and Ukraine. Russia’s continued attacks against Ukraine, and the repeated violation of NATO airspace, are unacceptable.

Thank you.