OSCE Chairman to visit Belgrade, Pristina to discuss regional stability, OSCE field operations

HELSINKI, 1 February 2008 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, will travel to Belgrade and Pristina on 5 and 6 February.

In Belgrade, Minister Kanerva will be hosted by Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic. He will also meet with other political leaders to discuss Serbia's European integration and the OSCE's work on human rights monitoring, institution- and capacity-building and the rule of law for all communities in Kosovo.

In Pristina, the Chairman-in-Office will meet Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, as well as Joachim Ruecker, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. Minister Kanerva will also visit Finnish KFOR troops in Lipljan.

Minister Kanerva will brief journalists in Belgrade and Pristina during his visits. For more information please contact Dinka Zivalj in Belgrade, Tel: +381 63 337 461 and Elli Flen in Pristina, Tel: +377-44-500 160.