GREECE ASSUMES OSCE CHAIR

Athens News Agency
Jan 9 2009
Greece

The unique opportunity offered to Greece to take over the chairmanship
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
for 2009 was underlined by the head of Greece’s permanent mission to
the OSCE headquarters in Vienna, Amb. Mara Marinaki.

Marinaki referred to current OSCE issues and missions and the imminent
address Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis will deliver on Jan. 15
to outline the chairmanship’s programme and priorities.

The Greek envoy underlined that Greece supports consensus
in decision-making, the respect of international law and the
non-negotiable principle of territorial integrity, pointing out that
OSCE is the second largest international organization after the United
Nations, with 56 members.

She also referred to Greece’s lengthy experience, as a NATO and EU
member, over the last 60 and 30 years, respectively, and pointed
out that it can contribute greatly to the settlement of ongoing
disputes, stressing that the country has been participating in the
process that led to the creation of the OSCE since its inception,
roughly 34 years ago.

Amb. Marinaki considers that progress can be made in the issues of
Nagorno-Karabakh and Transdniestria. Regarding Georgia, she stated
that the OSCE is involved in efforts to reach a settlement for the
benefit of all. On the OSCE mission to Georgia, she stated that it
is in a closing phase after its mandate was not renewed by Dec. 31,
2008, but that it had not closed up shot yet.

Its role has been valuable and forms are explored to further an OSCE
presence in Georgia.

Concerning other OSCE missions, Marinaki added that "Greece also
intends to strengthen the organisation’s presence in the western
Balkans and to upgrade its role in the region."

Greece took over the 2009 OSCE chairmanship on Jan. 1 from Finland and
at the end of the year it will be passed on to Kazakhstan, the first
country east of Vienna to chair the organization’s rotating presidency.

Caption: The new chairperson of the OSCE, Greek Foreign Minister
Dora Bakoyannis (R), and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb,
address the media during a joint press conference at the closing
session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s
(OSCE) ministerial council in Helsinki on 05 December 2008, as
Finland’s year-long tenure at the helm of the OSCE ended.