Serbia takes over chairmanship of OSCE

Serbia takes over chairmanship of OSCE

The permanent representative of Serbia to the OSCE will take over the presidency of this body on January 1, while on January 15, as announced by Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, the first conference of the Permanent Council of the OSCE will be held, which will mark the official start of the Serbian role.

Resolving the situation in Ukraine, based on all sides respecting the peace agreement, will be a priority when for the Serbian chairmanship, Dacic said.

An OSCE statement quoted him as saying that the chairmanship "represents a great challenge and opportunity for Serbia to exercise political will towards the goals of the OSCE, in particular in connection with the present crisis in Ukraine, which was not anticipated when Serbia expressed willingness to chair the OSCE three years ago."

"The response of the OSCE in such difficult circumstances shows that, when endowed with the necessary political will, the organization can use its comparative advantages, to effectively contribute to addressing the challenges of such crises and to testify about the importance of the OSCE as a regional security arrangement," Dacic said.

According to him, Serbia intends to invest all its efforts in finding a political solution to the current problems.

Another priority will be to work on long-term conflicts, where Serbia intends to "bring its own experience as a country that has emerged from conflict and that was in transition towards democracy."

Dacic said that Serbia is committed to the principles of the OSCE as well as transparency and efficiency in the work towards the goals of the organization.

Serbia, as he said, was ready to carry out its priorities "in all three dimensions" and to work towards achieving the objectives, starting with the fight against terrorism and better water management all the way to the implementation of commitments in the field of human rights.

During the year of the Serbian chairmanship, the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act will also be marked, noted the OSCE statement.