Future OSCE Chairman-in-Office: Solving problem of protracted conflicts will be one of priorities of Lithuania's OSCE chairmanship

Solving the problem of protracted conflicts will be one of the priorities of Lithuania's chairmanship to the OSCE, Foreign Minister of Lithuania Audronius Azubalis said in an interview with Trend  prior to Lithuania's chairmanship to the OSCE (January 2011).

"Solving the problem of protracted conflicts will be one of the priorities of Lithuania's chairmanship to the OSCE. We see how the unresolved conflicts hamper the development of these countries and prevent more active European integration," said Azubalis.
According to the Minister, for Lithuania, as a future chairman of the OSCE, it is very important to continue the intense activities of the precursors, particularly Kazakhstan, in resolving conflicts in the former Soviet Union area.

"It is important to maximally use the existing formats of negotiations and not to rush. In the case of the South Caucasus, it is the Geneva discussions and OSCE Minsk Group. We fully trust the chairs of these formats of negotiations and it is our duty to ensure their unimpeded work," said Azubalis.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister has decided to appoint a very experienced Lithuanian diplomat Giedrius Cekuolis as a representative on protracted conflicts, and personal representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk will continue to work with the Minsk Group.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States is the moderator of the peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. Negotiations are conducted after reaching a cease-fire in 1994, but the conflict remains unresolved.


OSCE summit in Astana

Lithuanian Foreign Minister hopes that the upcoming OSCE summit in Astana will confirm the Action Plan which will be based on a good work already done as part of Corfu process and in the review process before the summit.

"The Action Plan should reflect a balance between all three dimensions of the OSCE and keep our main goal - to restore trust and confidence in order to strengthen security in Europe," said Azubalis.

The OSCE has not held such a summit for 11 years. The OSCE summit will be held in Astana on Dec. 1-2 and will bring together presidents and prime ministers from 56 OSCE member countries and 12 OSCE partner countries, as well as the heads of 68 international organizations.

OSCE is the largest organization on the continent in the field of security policy. It is unique in that it brings together 56 countries of North America, Europe and former Soviet Union states.

Situation in Kyrgyzstan

OSCE and Kazakhstan, chairing the organization this year, played a positive role in resolving the crisis in Kyrgyzstan, the Minister said. As shown by the referendum on June 28 and parliamentary elections held on Oct. 10, Kyrgyzstan moves in a democratic way. Now, according to the Minister, it is important that after the parliamentary elections, the country would return to normal political life.

"We understand that Kyrgyzstan is experiencing difficult times, and the international community's support for Kyrgyzstan is essential. The situation in Kyrgyzstan will be one of the most urgent issues for Lithuania, as a future chairman of the OSCE," said Azubalis.  

According to him, it is important to resolve the inter-ethnic tensions.

"We hope that the international and national commissions on investigation will contribute to building confidence between the two ethnic groups," he said.

According to the Minister, for the improvement of the situation in country, Lithuania supports the decision of the Kyrgyz Government and the OSCE mission in Bishkek to reform the police advisory group into the Public safety initiatives project.

"I hope that the implementation of this project will not be delayed. The project contributed not only to enhancing the competence of the police, but also ensuring smoother working with ethnic communities," he said.

To avoid scenarios such as the Kyrgyz one, it needs to more flexibly and efficiently use early preventing measures, the Minister said.

Just within the Corfu process, many countries support that the OSCE chairman and the Conflict Prevention Centre would more flexibly and more efficiently use early preventing measures to prevent crises and conflicts at an early stage, the Minister said.

In addition, he said, the chairman is expected to act quickly to consult with key partners and mobilize financial, political and other means to resolve crises.

Former Kyrgyz leadership headed by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in a revolution in April this year. A referendum was held in the country in summer, which resulted in approving constitutional amendments, as well as Kyrgyzstan's transition to a parliamentary system of government. In October, the Kyrgyz Republic held its first parliamentary elections after the change of political system of governance.

OSCE reform

The summit in Astana is an excellent opportunity to define a new concept of Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security and cooperation, said Azubalis. This meeting will re-confirm commitments of the organization, set strategic goals for the future.

"I hope that the summit will give a powerful impetus to upgrading the organization and its work more efficiently," said the minister.

Energy

Energy security is a complex issue which is directly linked to climate change and steady economic development. These challenges can be overcome only through joint efforts of all, including industry and civil society, the countries concerned, the Minister said. The OSCE can also encourage such a dialogue and various forms of cooperation.

"The energy infrastructure inherited by us pre-determines the dependence of the Baltic countries on imported energy resources, so the general principles in the energy sector are needed, said Azubalis. - Using energy resources should stimulate economic prosperity."

According to the Minister, Lithuania acts only for the transparent and non-discriminatory agreements on energy or energy resources supplies. Development of infrastructure must meet stringent environmental requirements, and encouraging the use of technologies that consume less coal is very important to mitigate impacts on climate change.

"The report by the Secretary General at the meeting of OSCE experts on energy security, held in September in Vilnius, is an important reference point for all of us," said Azubalis.


/Trend/