On 2 December 2021, the Minister Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the 28th Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe in Stockholm, organised by the Swedish Chairpersonship of the OSCE.
The meeting addressed security-related, politico-military, human rights as well as economic and environmental cooperation issues in the OSCE region. The OSCE participating States exchanged views on the OSCE’s role in conflict resolution and on current challenges to compliance with the fundamental OSCE principles and commitments.
In his remarks to the OSCE Ministerial Council, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined the need to find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is aggravated by the build-up of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine, the deteriorating situation in Crimea illegally annexed by Russia, and restrictions to the work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
The Foreign Minister drew attention to the alarming human rights situation that persists in Belarus and to the hybrid attack by Belarus on the European Union’s external border, which creates tension in the region. Belarus should assume full responsibility for this situation and stop acting in an inhuman and destabilising manner, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined. Building mutual trust and reducing security risks in the OSCE region is vital for the strengthening of the European security order.
During the OSCE Ministerial Council, Edgars Rinkēvičs also took part in a discussion organised by Ukraine on international support for the Crimean platform and in a discussion on OSCE instruments for monitoring the human rights situation in Belarus.
Background information
The OSCE Ministerial Council is the organisation’s central decision-making and governing body. The meeting, held annually, provides the Foreign Ministers of the 57 OSCE participating States an opportunity to review and assess the Organization’s activities over the past year as well as ascertaining the national positions of the participating States on security and cooperation.
The previous OSCE Ministerial Council under the Albanian Chairmanship was held virtually in 2020, and Poland will take over next year.