Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal opens Turkey’s Chairmanship of OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation in Vienna

VIENNA, 15 January 2020 – Turkey will aim at enhancing the implementation of OSCE participating States’ existing commitments in the politico-military sphere and making the best use of established OSCE instruments, said Turkey’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sedat Önal, as he opened the country’s Chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) in Vienna today.

“The current security environment is unfortunately characterized by distrust, lack of transparency, hybrid threats, conflicts and crises. Violations of fundamental principles of international law and established diplomatic practice are no more exceptions to the rule. New military technologies are on the rise,” he said in his opening address to representatives of the participating States. “It is time to engage in meaningful discussions in a frank and constructive manner and draw lessons from our experiences.”

Önal said that comprehensive co-operative security constitutes a unique asset for ensuring a stable and peaceful world, and that the FSC has been instrumental in developing a wide range of confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs).

“The FSC’s acquis, which is rooted in our shared values, provide us with a solid basis for building a stronger vision for the future. We have to continue to underscore the added value of the FSC’s work for Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security,” he said.

Referring to the Turkish FSC Chair’s work programme, he said that Turkey, as a country with substantial experience in politico-military security issues, aims to bring its expertise to the work of the FSC, to invite experts from other countries and organizations to selected meetings, and to focus the Security Dialogues on both established and new topics.

“We will cover the topics of disarmament, and peace and security as referred to in UN Security Council Resolutions 1540 regarding the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (2004) and 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000),” said Önal. “We would also like to put the emphasis on priorities of our geography, such as terrorism and irregular migration.”

Other sessions will focus on small arms and light weapons and stockpiles of conventional ammunition through the prism of mine action; regional co-operation regarding Afghanistan; the Vienna Document; and the 20^th anniversary of the OSCE Istanbul Summit. The crisis in and around Ukraine will also feature in the ongoing discussions, he said, adding that Turkey will work closely with Albania’s 2020 Chairmanship.

“We are committed to a productive FSC Chairmanship with due regard to our common values and views of the participating States, and I would like to underline the importance of our solidarity and spirit of partnership during our Chairmanship,” concluded Önal.

The Chairmanship of the Forum for Security Co-operation rotates three times a year. It takes the lead in setting the agenda for each meeting of the Forum and brings attention to issues concerning the implementation of commitments adopted by the Forum.