OSCE Chairman attends inauguration of Ukraine's new President

KYIV, 24 January 2005 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, who attended the inauguration of Ukraine's new President Viktor Yushchenko on Sunday, underlined the OSCE's high expectations for the future development of the country.

"I believe that the co-operation between the OSCE and Ukraine could be further strengthened, in particular on issues such as freedom of the media, national minorities, the political-military dimension and regional security", he said after meeting President Yushchenko. "This opportunity should not be missed."

The Chairman-in-Office was accompanied by OSCE Secretary General Jan Kubis.

During his visit to the Ukrainian capital, the Chairman-in-Office also met NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic, Hungarian President Ferenc Madl, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Czech President Vaclav Havel and the Foreign Minister of Serbia and Montenegro Vuk Draskovic.

Minister Rupel discussed current OSCE issues, including ways of bridging divisions among participating States on scales of contribution and the 2005 budget, as well as the future of the border monitoring operation in Georgia.