Athens Ministerial Council begins with call for unity on European security dialogue

ATHENS, 1 December 2009 - The dialogue on European security can be meaningful only if it is tied to concrete progress, the foreign ministers of the 56 OSCE participating States heard at the start of the 17th OSCE Ministerial Council in Athens today.

Greek President Karolos Papoulias, welcoming the ministers and high-level representatives at the opening session, said: "The Athens Ministerial provides us all with an important opportunity to send out a clear message of unity on the need for enhanced dialogue complemented by joint action."

The Greek OSCE Chairmanship launched the Corfu Process this year to foster an inclusive dialogue on the security challenges and new threats facing the OSCE area in the 21st century.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Greek Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou, urged OSCE states to reinforce their commitment to seek solutions through the Corfu Process.

"The new dialogue on European security can be meaningful only in so far as it is tied to concrete progress on key security challenges," he said.

"Much has happened this year to remind us that security in our region remains a work in progress. The global economic crisis has affected all our countries. We have worked hard to contain the aftermath of armed conflict in Georgia. Instability in Afghanistan continues to pose multi-faceted challenges for the security of our region."

"We have to agree on important decisions in the next two days to strengthen co-operative security across the OSCE area."

Papandreou emphasized progress that has been achieved this year in the Geneva Discussions co-chaired by the OSCE with the UN and EU and in talks on the Transnistrian conflict, as well through work with Afghanistan, a Partner for Co-operation country, to strengthen border security and management.

"Long-term security and stability in Afghanistan can only be built on the basis of stronger regional co-operation with and around the country, including the constructive involvement of the country's Central Asian neighbours," he said.

Papandreou also underscored the importance of talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by France, the Russian Federation and the United States.

"The Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group have worked tirelessly to support the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they approach the time to take difficult decisions aimed at resolving their differences. Here in Athens, we must leave no doubt that this process enjoys the solid support of the entire OSCE community," said Papandreou.

More than 45 ministers are attending the two-day Ministerial Council. The OSCE Foreign Ministers will adopt decisions and give political guidelines on a wide range of topics in the politico-military, economic and environmental and human dimensions of security.

Video of the opening and closing sessions of the 17th OSCE Ministerial Council, as well as the concluding news conference, can be viewed on the conference website: //www.osce.org/conferences/mc_2009.html?page=41465