On the Participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus in the OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting in Kyiv

 06-12-2013

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Mr.Vladimir Makei took part in the 20th meeting of OSCE Ministerial Council, held in Kyiv, Ukraine on 5-6 December 2013.

Addressing the plenary, Mr.Vladimir Makei stressed the need for urgent measures aimed at overcoming the lack of trust in relations between the participating States and preserving the OSCE role as an important platform for the development of common and effective responses to modern challenges and threats to security. Among reasons of the crisis situation within the OSCE, Head of the Belarusian delegation mentioned attempts to push forward some partners' priorities to the detriment of other states and the use of “double standards”. Minister Makei emphasized inadmissibility of the practice of political pressure and use of restrictive measures in relations between participating States.

In this regard Belarusian Foreign Minister urged to use the unique opportunity of the Helsinki Plus 40 process, unfolding within the OSCE, to improve the atmosphere of dialogue and cooperation. The Minister noted the importance of finding topics with the common denominator and making decisions that meet the interests and needs of citizens. Freedom of movement and liberalization of visa regimes were proposed as one of such topics.

At the Ministerial Council meeting, foreign ministers of the OSCE participating States approved a number of final documents, including a ministerial Declaration on Furthering the Helsinki Plus 40 Process to build a security community in the OSCE area and a decision on Addendum to the OSCE Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings.

During the Ministerial Vladimir Makei took part in the working meeting of heads of delegations of the CSTO Member States who at the initiative of Belarus issued a joint statement outlining general approaches of the CSTO states towards the Helsinki Plus 40 process.

Trilateral consultations of heads of delegations of the Customs Union / Common Economic Space states were held, to agree on further steps of the foreign ministries of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia regarding international positioning of the integration association.

On the margins of the Kyiv Ministerial, Mr.Vladimir Makei also met heads of the OSCE executive structures as well as heads of delegations of a number of participating States and international organizations.

During the meeting with Mr.Lamberto Zannier, OSCE Secretary General, prospects of enhancing cooperation between Belarus and the OSCE Secretariat, including implementation of joint projects, were discussed.

A focused exchange of views on media-related issues was made with Ms.Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. At the meeting, Belarusian Foreign Minister raised the issue of the EU restrictive measures as applied against representatives of a number of Belarusian media.

Issues of the Belarusian-Swiss bilateral cooperation and interaction within the OSCE in the context of the 2014 Swiss OSCE Chairmanship were discussed at the meeting with Didier Burkhalter, Vice-President of Switzerland, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting with Mr.Gonzalo de Benito, Head of the Spanish Delegation, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, prospects of bilateral cooperation, including in trade and economic areas, as well as a number of issues on the international agenda, were discussed.

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