Portuguese Chairmanship urges Belarus to comply with OSCE commitments

VIENNA, 4 June 2002 - The Portuguese OSCE Chairmanship issued the following statement on Tuesday:

Despite all efforts made by the OSCE Chairmanship, through direct contacts with Minsk, to overcome the current difficulties between Belarus and the OSCE, the Belarusian Government has refused to extend the visa of the Deputy Acting Head of the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group (AMG), Andrew Carpenter, having previously refused to extend the visa of former Acting Head Michel Rivollier.

This attitude by the Belarus authorities does not contribute to the desirable normalisation of relations between Belarus and the OSCE and cannot be accepted by the Chairmanship. It can only harm the interests of Belarus. The Government of Belarus must comply with its obligations undertaken within the OSCE.

For that purpose, a continuation of the co-operation between the OSCE and Belarus is essential and the work of the AMG has to be considered a key element in it. With the "de facto" expulsion of Mr. Carpenter, the AMG is no longer in a position to perform its duties.

The Chairman has therefore asked Ms. Meaghan Fitzgerald, the last remaining AMG Mission member for external relations, to come to Vienna for consultations. Until further notice, the officer-in-charge of the AMG will be Ms. Alina Josan. She will only do administrative work.

The OSCE is ready to pursue consultations on the future work of the AMG and looks forward to discussing concrete proposals.