OSCE Chairman-in-Office to visit countries effected by the Kosovo conflict

OSLO, 6 January 1999 - The new Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebæk, will make a trip to the Balkans on 9 - 13 January, 1999. The main issue of the visit will be the Kosovo conflict. The OSCE has established a Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM), with headquarters in Pristina, to oversee and verify compliance with UN Security Council resolutions on Kosovo. There is also an OSCE Presence in Albania and an OSCE Mission to Skopje.

The Chairman-in-Office will arrive in Tirana, Albania on 9 January, continuing to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 10 January, where he will visit Belgrade, Podgorica and Pristina. He will end his trip on 13 January with a visit to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The Chairman-in-Office will meet with national and political leaders as well as other political figures. In Kosovo, meetings are scheduled with leaders of the Serbian administration as well as leaders of the Kosovo Albanians. During his stay, he will open the fifth and last Regional Center of the KVM (in Pristina).

Directly following the visit, Minister Vollebæk will travel to Vienna. On 14 January, he will report to the OSCE Permanent Council on his impressions. He will also make a speech, where he will outline the priorities of the Norwegian OSCE Chairmanship. At 12:00 PM the same day, the Chairman-in-Office will hold a press conference. A separate Press Release with more information will be issued later.