OSCE Troika Foreign Ministers issue statement after meeting in Vienna

VIENNA, 18 June 1997 - The Ministers of the Troika of the OSCE, the Foreign Ministers of Poland, Switzerland and Denmark met today in Vienna and issued the following statement:

The Ministers discussed the latest developments in Albania. A separate declaration was issued on this issue.

The Ministers underlined the urgency of securing the necessary financial means for the preparation and conduct of local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Elections are fundamental to the peace process and form an integral part of the Dayton peace agreement. Electing legitimate local structures is a prerequisite for further progress and therefore also a precondition for any consideration of future international involvement in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Ministers therefore urged states that have not yet contributed to do so urgently. The Ministers were determined to make available the necessary funds through the OSCE's assessed budget, should voluntary contributions not suffice.

The Ministers expressed their satisfaction with the positive response from the Government of Belarus to the offer by the Chairman-in-Office to assist that country in striving towards a democratic form of government by creating an OSCE advisory and monitoring office in Minsk. They noted that the Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office would meet with Foreign Minister Antonovich on 20 June to discuss the form and modalities for such an office.

The Ministers reaffirmed their desire to see an enhanced role for the OSCE in Eastern Slavonia, Croatia, as and when UNTAES departs. They voiced their concern with the situation of displaced persons in other regions of Croatia and support for an increased OSCE effort to address this issue.

The Ministers expressed their satisfaction that a final peace treaty between the parties to the conflict in Tajikistan would now be signed in Moscow on 27 June after the final round of UN-sponsored peace talks. They expressed the willingness of the OSCE to contribute to consolidating peace in the country, inter alia, by assisting in the repatriation of refugees from neighbouring countries.

The Ministers discussed the financial situation of the OSCE. The Troika expressed its firm support for the endeavour of the Chairman-in-Office towards introducing reforms that will enable the OSCE to act in accordance with its political role.