AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Feb 2, 2005

OSCE CHAIRMAN HOLDS DISCUSSIONS IN MOSCOW
[February 02, 2005, 14:42:23]

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij
Rupel, discussed OSCE reform, the Organization’s election-monitoring
activities and a range of regional issues in talks with Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.

The Chairman-in-Office said he was encouraged by the open and candid
discussions and by the commitment of the Russian Federation to making
the 55-nation security organization more effective.

He said the Slovenian Chairmanship took Russia’s concerns about the
future of the Organization very seriously.

Regional issues discussed included Kosovo, Georgia,
Moldova/Transdniestria and Nagorno-Karabakh.

On elections, the Chairman-in-Office said he was open to a discussion
on ways of making OSCE election-monitoring even more effective, but
this should build on the excellent existing achievements of the
OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.