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OSCE foreign ministers’ meeting in Kiev to discuss Ukraine’s chairing organisation

KIEV, December 05 /ITAR-TASS/. Results of Ukraine’s one-year term as chair of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe /OSCE/ will be on the agenda of the meeting of the member-countries’ foreign ministers. The meeting will open at 09:30 /11:30 Moscow time/ on Thursday.

Besides the member-countries, the meeting will feature delegations from eleven states - the OSCE partners, head of the OSCE institutes, representatives of international organisations like the CIS, UN, European Council, NATO, etc.

Deputy head of the information policy department at Ukraine’s foreign ministry Vasil Zvarych said “the OSCE’s 20th meeting of foreign ministers will be a key event during Ukraine’s chairing the organisation.”

The forum’s major objective is “to discuss key issues of the OSCE’s agenda with the focus on the priorities which have been outlined for the period of Ukraine’s chairing,” he said. Ukraine’s key topics were support in settlement of the ‘frozen’ conflicts in the OSCE space, first of all - the Transdniestrian one, active efforts in prevention of human traffic, the freedom of movement and contacts between people. During the meeting, he continued, the participants will also discuss further development of the Helsinki plus 40 initiative, improvement of cooperation in the arms control and in non-proliferation, environmental issues, and first of all from the point of view of the impact from the energy facilities. The meeting participants will pay special role to strengthening the rule of law and the provision of basic human rights and freedoms, the establishment of tolerance and combating discrimination, protection of journalists' rights, the fight against transnational threats.

“Ukraine as the host of the event has been working now on settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict,” he said. The work on the final document is underway, but Zvarych refrained from giving any further details.