Helsinki Times , Finland
Nov 27 2008

Finland to chair vital security talks

Thursday, 27 November 2008 11:22

The OSCE (Organisation for Security & Cooperation in Europe) will hold
its Ministerial Meeting in Helsinki on 4 and 5 December.

Although nowhere near as high profile or controversial as NATO, the
OSCE is the world’s largest security organisation, including some 56
member states across the European continent, as well as Canada and the
United States. The foreign ministers of most states will attend the
conference, meaning an influx of various high profile politicians and
tightened security during the week of the conference.

Founded during the Cold War, the OSCE aimed to provide a link between
east and west. Since then it has become a vital forum for discussion
and a place in which the various countries can discuss differences and
prevent conflict. Finland is a founding member of the organisation.

The OSCE focuses on three major themes: the politico-military, the
economic and environmental, and the human dimension. It is thus
involved with fields as varied as arms control, human rights,
democratisation, counter-terrorism and economic development. With
3,000 staff in 450 operations, the Vienna-based organisation is
involved in everything from teaching fire safety to Bosnian school
children to safeguarding the rights of ethnic minorities in the
Caucasus.

All members enjoy equal status with the chairmanship rotating
annually, and the foreign minister of the chair country hosts the
conference. Finland’s Alexander Stubb will thus be Chairman- in-Office
for the upcoming event.

Controversial topics

The agenda for the upcoming conference is likely to feature some
particularly difficult and controversial topics: the threat of Russian
aggression in the Caucasus, ongoing conflicts in Transdnestria and
Nagorno-Karabakh, and concerns over terror and human trafficking. Of
these, the situation in the Caucasus is likely to dominate the
headlines and prove the most difficult nut to crack.

With both Georgia and Russia represented at the conference, Russia is
likely to continue to attack Georgia for the alleged use of banned
cluster bombs against civilian targets in South Ossetia, while Georgia
can be expected to mount a strong case against Russian aggression, a
position likely to be viewed sympathetically by Azerbaijan, the
Ukraine, Estonia and Moldova.

A key role in the talks will also be played by Heikki Talvitie, the
Finnish Special Envoy of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, who recently
attended talks in Geneva with delegates from Russia, the US, UN and EU
concerning both Transdnestria and Nagorno-Karabakh, with progress
being made on both issues.

On the apparently intractable issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, where Armenia
has occupied several provinces of Azerbaijani land as it seeks
recognition of the Armenian-governed Nagorno- Karabakh enclave,
Talvitie suggested there was a new kind of optimism in the air since
the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan had signed a document
after talks near Moscow on 2 November.

However, this optimism is unlikely to filter into any discussions
concerning Georgia and the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia, which were effectively invaded by Russian forces earlier this
year, also resulting in the bombing of the Georgian towns of Gori and
Poti.

The meeting will be preceded by the OSCE Civil Society Forum on 2 and
3 December, organised by the Finnish Committee for European Security
(STETE).

David Brown – HT
Tony Karumba – AFP Photo – Lehtikuva

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