Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Troika Meet in Geneva

GENEVA, 19 October 1995 - The Foreign Ministers of the Troika of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Federal Councillor of Switzerland, Mr. Flavio Cotti, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary and OSCE Chairman-in-Office Mr. László Kovács, and Italian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Emmanuele Scammacca del Murgo, met in Geneva today to discuss matters of highest importance on the OSCE agenda. OSCE Secretary General, Dr. Wilhelm Höynck, and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Mr. Max van der Stoel, also took part in the meeting.

The Ministers welcomed the admission of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) into the OSCE as a participating State. They consider the integration of the FYROM as an important contribution to the process of the comprehensive settlement of the crisis on the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

The Ministers reaffirmed their support for the on-going international efforts aimed at the comprehensive settlement of the conflicts on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and declared the readiness of the OSCE to contribute to its implementation. In this context, they welcomed the "Agreed Basic Principles" concluded on 26 September 1995 in New York by the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the role foreseen for the OSCE in the implementation of the "Principles". The OSCE is offering its specific capabilities in promoting and monitoring human rights, including minorities rights, as well as in the establishment and development of democratic institutions.

The participants indicated that the OSCE will examine the possibility of implementing the recommendations of the fact-finding mission sent recently to the Republic of Croatia on the establishment of an OSCE long-term mission in that country. The activities of the mission should strengthen the process of peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem, and support the efforts of the Croatian government to promote and monitor human rights, including minority rights, in the recently reintegrated areas, in particular with regard to the return of refugees and displaced persons.

The participants expressed their serious concern over the increasing tension in the Chechen Republic, the Russian Federation, that threatens the peaceful settlement of the crisis and endangers the personal safety of the members of the OSCE Assistance Group.

The Ministers condemned in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attacks recently carried out in Chechnya and expressed their conviction that these attacks must not reach their objective, the interruption of the negotiating process and the resumption of the armed conflict. They call on all parties involved in the crisis to exercise restraint, continue the implementation of the military agreement, take further confidence-building measures and make every effort aimed at a negotiated settlement of the crisis, in conformity with the norms and principles of the OSCE and on the basis of the territorial integrity and the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

The Ministers also request the federal and local authorities of the Russian Federation to make every step necessary to guarantee the safety of the OSCE Assistance Group so that it can fulfil its mandate, and welcome commitments made by federal and local authorities to this end.

They took note of the promising results achieved at the last meeting of the Minsk Group held in Helsinki aimed at the resolution of the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. They stressed the need to make further progress before the 7-8 December Ministerial Council meeting in Budapest and appealed to the parties to demonstrate maximum flexibility in the coming weeks.

The Ministers recalled the decision of the 1994 Budapest Summit relative to the preparation and dispatch of an OSCE multinational peace-keeping force to Nagorno-Karbakh. They stressed the need for the OSCE community to continue to focus its attention on this multinational peace-keeping operation and be ready to contribute to it.