Brussels, 13/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - In Vienna on 12 January, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht set out the priorities of the Belgian Presidency of the OSCE, which began on 1st January and will run until the end of the year, after the traditional Ministerial meeting in December. The new President succeeds the Slovenian, Dimitrij Rupei. Following the roadmap adopted in Ljubljana in December, the Belgian Presidency will have to proceed with the difficult task of institutional reform of the OSCE.
In his speech to the Permanent Council of an organisation of 55 member countries from Vancouver to Vladivostok, Karel de Gucht stressed the two main priorities of his Presidency: the resolution of frozen conflicts and the fight against international crime. On the first, building on the slight progress in 2005, the Belgian Presidency intends to play its full part as mediator and to facilitate positive developments in Transdniestria, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. On the second, cooperation among member countries was to be encouraged. The Belgian Minister set an ambitious, but realistic, programme. On Wednesday he stressed to reporters the need for consensus on all OSCE decisions. The Belgian Presidency will also seek to create a better climate given that lots of problems remain unsolved because of tensions which slow dialogue within the organisation, explained Mr de Gucht. On the removal of Russian troops from Transdniestria, provided for by the Istanbul Summit and which western European countries link to the ratification of the revised Arms Control and Disarmament Treaty, the Minister said he would be looking for practical solutions and that he had already spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. He added that it was better to achieve partial solutions rather than become locked in theoretical discussions on how well the Istanbul commitments were being respected. (source: out publication Atlantic News)