OSCE Chairman meets Secretary of State Rice, says continued U.S. support crucial

WASHINGTON, 12 February 2008 - The OSCE is a vital component of international security, and U.S. engagement in the Organization remains crucial, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, said after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

He said they had discussed the OSCE's future role in Kosovo and ways the Organization could contribute to long-term security and stability in Afghanistan, an OSCE partner country.

"We welcome U.S. ideas on how we engage with Afghanistan and we consider U.S. support for our future role in Kosovo helpful," the Minister said. "Overall, U.S. support for the OSCE's comprehensive, cross-dimensional approach to security is hugely important."

The Secretary of State and the Minister on Monday discussed ways the OSCE could try to reinvigorate negotiations on the protracted conflicts over South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transdniestria.

Minister Kanerva said he and Secretary of State Rice had agreed it was disappointing Russian limitations had meant the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) felt it could not deliver on its mandate to observe Russia's presidential election in March.

"ODIHR is rightly recognized internationally for its professional approach and well-established methodology," said the Chairman-in-Office.

As part of his visit to the United States, the Chairman-in-Office also made a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center. On Wednesday, he will address the U.S. Helsinki Commission - formally known as the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe - and answer questions from its members.