GENEVA, September 5. /TASS/. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is still ready to facilitate a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Ukraine and its implementation on the ground, if necessary, Nicolas Bideau, spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the country that holds the OSCE chairmanship this year, told TASS.
Commenting on the organization’s progress toward a negotiated settlement on Ukraine since the visits by Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis to Moscow and Kiev earlier this year, Bideau said that the visits "did not lead to a breakthrough in negotiations," as "that was not their goal." "They made it possible to maintain a direct political dialogue with both sides at the level of the OSCE chairmanship," he noted.
Another goal of Switzerland as the organization’s chair was to "clearly demonstrate what the OSCE could offer if a political window opened," Bideau noted. This referred not only to a "platform for dialogue" but also to the organization’s expertise, as well as "tools to facilitate a negotiated settlement and its implementation on the ground, if necessary," he explained.
"This readiness persists," the ministry’s spokesman said, adding that "diplomacy begins with maintaining communication channels, especially when the parties’ positions diverge significantly."