During the Bratislava Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the participating states entrusted Poland with the Organisation’s Chairmanship in 2022.

“Our objective will be to endeavour to restore confidence in Europe,” stressed the chief of Polish diplomacy as he thanked the delegations for supporting Poland’s candidacy. He added that Poland hopes to act as an impartial intermediary for enhancing cooperation between states, with due regard for the OSCE basic principles and commitments as set out in the Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE documents. Minister Jacek Czaputowicz also confirmed that Poland intends to cooperate closely with Sweden which will chair the Organisation in 2021.

The decision to run for the OSCE Chairmanship reflects the significance Poland attaches to the Organisation as an important forum to promote cooperation and stability in Europe. Our candidacy is also a logical continuation of Poland’s active foreign policy which includes our country’s non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council. Moreover, the OSCE Chairmanship will be an opportunity to strengthen Poland’s position as an important centre of human rights, creating a synergy effect with our role as the ODIHR host country along with our membership of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2020-2022 term.

During the meeting, the OSCE foreign ministers focused on the unstable security situation in Europe that is related to, among other factors, the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Minister Jacek Czaputowicz reminded that the aggression against Ukraine remains the main challenge for European security. He also noted that measures which Ukrainian authorities have recently adopted, including the separation of forces, confirm Kyiv’s commitment to seek a peaceful resolution of the conflict. “Any future steps in the process of settling the conflict should reflect the “security first” principle, covering the issues of the presence of illegal armed groups in the territory of Ukraine and monitoring the Ukrainian-Russian border,” observed Minister Czaputowicz.

In his address, the chief of Polish diplomacy also stressed the importance of instruments belonging to the so-called OSCE politico-military dimension. He underlined the necessity to fully respect the obligations arising from the conventional arms control regimes and confidence and security-building measures. In this context he pointed out the need to substantially modernise the Vienna Document on Confidence and Security-Building Measures. Poland is among 32 states that drafted a proposal for such a comprehensive modernisation.

On the occasion of the Ministerial Council, Minister Jacek Czaputowicz took part in a meeting to discuss support for Ukrainian citizens detained in Russian prisons. The meeting was attended by Oleg Sentsov, a film director, and Roman Sushchenko, a journalist.

On the sidelines of the Council, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs also held a series of bilateral talks with his Armenian, Belarusian, Georgian, Moldovan, and Ukrainian counterparts.

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The Ministerial Council is the most important annual OSCE event which brings together delegations from 57 participating states and a dozen or so partner states. The Bratislava meeting marks an informal end to the Slovak Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2019. Albania will take over in 2020, to be followed by Sweden in 2021, and Poland in 2022. Poland chaired the OSCE for the first – and to this day the only time in 1998.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA