OSCE offers Russia, Ukraine to facilitate peace talks if they initiate

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – The new secretary general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Friday offered Russia and Ukraine the organization's support if the warring countries begin a peace process.

“OSCE is an organization of comprehensive security that puts diplomacy above everything else, and therefore, I do hope that if the two parties start a process, they can benefit from the opportunities and tools of the OSCE,” former Turkish Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu told a news conference at the end of the OSCE's 31st Ministerial Council meeting in Malta, where he was elected to his new role.

He vowed that he is “determined to ensure that the OSCE remains agile and ready to respond to the evolving security landscape and participating states' needs.”

Malta's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ian Borg, who also serves as the OSCE Chair-in-Office, hailed the organization's efforts over the last year "during one of the most challenging periods in its history."

“Russia's war against Ukraine has not only devastated millions of lives; it has also called into question the very foundations of Europe's security architecture. That is why we made a deliberate decision to put Ukraine at the center of our work,” he noted.

Borg, in this context, said it is “good” that Russia “understands that this organization is crucial.”

“This organization, first of all, is crucial to remind themselves that they violate the very Helsinki Final Act that they signed 49 years ago,” he stressed.

Sinirlioglu’s election received the approval of OSCE’s 57 participating member states from North America, Europe, and Asia.

He will serve a three-year term as OSCE secretary general. During Sinirlioglu’s term, many crucial issues concerning global peace and stability will be on the agenda, particularly the preservation of the foundations of the security architecture in Europe.

The OSCE, established in 1975 during the Cold War, aimed at facilitating dialogue to reduce tensions between Eastern and Western blocs.