OSCE Secretary General, in Moscow, discusses future agenda for OSCE, protracted conflicts, Afghanistan post-2014

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier paid an official visit to Moscow from 6 to 8 November 2013. He met with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Minister Alexey Meshkov and other senior officials, as well as with Nikolay Bordyuzha, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

The “Helsinki +40” process aimed at redefining the strategic direction of the Organization to more effectively  respond to current and emerging security challenges in the OSCE region and beyond; preparations for the OSCE Ministerial Council taking place in Kyiv from 5 to 6 December; security in Central Asia following the 2014 transition in Afghanistan; as well as activities to promote progress towards resolution of the protracted conflicts and the work of the OSCE in the field were on the agenda of Zannier’s meetings with Minister Lavrov and other interlocutors.

Discussing the future priorities of the OSCE, the Secretary General emphasized the importance of strengthening the role of the OSCE as a regional arrangement under the Chapter VIII of the UN Charter.

Zannier stressed the need for a renewed commitment by all parties to working towards the resolution of protracted conflicts in the OSCE area, including in the 5+2 talks on the Transdniestrian settlement, Geneva International Discussions addressing the consequences of the August 2008 conflict in Georgia, and efforts towards a lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The OSCE Secretary General stressed the need to step up joint efforts to more effectively address transnational threats, such as trafficking in human beings or illicit drugs, organized crime, illegal migration and cybercrime.

The work of the OSCE field operations, including the activities of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo in facilitating voting in four municipalities in northern Kosovo, was also discussed.

Security challenges for Central Asia and for the OSCE region as a whole, in particular in view of the 2014 transition in Afghanistan, were an important theme on the agenda, along with the wider issue of the OSCE area. In the meeting with CSTO Secretary General Bordyuzha, Zannier reiterated the need to continue engaging in areas such as capacity-building of border and customs officials from Central Asia and Afghanistan, including training programmes in the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe.

The programme of the OSCE Secretary General in Moscow also included a meeting at the State Duma with the Head of the Russian Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Nikolay Kovalev, and a lecture for students of the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO).