OSCE Chairperson, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs meet in Brussels

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, and the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton met on 31 January 2010 in Brussels to discuss issues in the OSCE area, including in Albania, Belarus and Moldova.

Ažubalis informed Ashton about recent OSCE activities, including work to support the resumption of dialogue between the government and opposition leaders in Albania, preparation by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to monitor local Albanian elections in May, and plans of the Chairmanship regarding OSCE activities and representation in Minsk. They affirmed the need for collective efforts aimed at the soonest possible resumption of official negotiations in the 5+2 format for settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict.

Ažubalis and Ashton also discussed the importance of a strategic dialogue between the EU, Russia and the United States on OSCE issues.

The OSCE Chairperson conveyed an invitation to Ashton to address the OSCE’s weekly Permanent Council in Vienna and to attend the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vilnius at the end of the year.