"People in OSCE area expect peace," says incoming chair

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who will chair the OSCE next year, says the primary task will be to strengthen mutual trust in the OSCE area.

Izvor: Beta

Friday, 04.12.2015.

21:31

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(Tanjug)

"People in OSCE area expect peace," says incoming chair

Steinmeier said that 40 years after the adoption of the Helsinki Final Act "everyone should apply the principles of that document in order to meet the expectations of the population of 57 member-states and resolve conflicts."

"Although individual states have controversial positions and attitudes, only united we can live in peace and next to each other," said Steinmeier.

He said that the OSCE could be useful only if there is readiness for cooperation, dialogue and compromise.

Steinmeier announced that Germany will during its chairmanship deal with conflict resolution in Ukraine and crises in other parts of the OSCE area.

Addressing a joint news conference with Serbian FM and outgoing OSCE chairperson Ivica Dacic, he apologized because the Ministerial Council was late to finish its work, saying that "the consensus principle requires long negotiations, even on those texts that do not seem contentious at first."

Although the positions of OSCE member-states' governments may not be united, the German minister remarked, citizens are united in their desire to live in peace, "and governments and institutions like the OSCE must guarantee that peace."

Addressing the same news conference, Dacic said Serbia showed during its chairmanship that it can be "a serious partner on the international scene and a place where compromises will be looked for."

Speaking about the final session of the Belgrade gathering and its conclusions, Dacic said that at the point he was addressing reporters, "negotiations were still ongoing" noting that "every decision, even the smallest, requires consensus of all 57 participating countries."

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