Foreign ministers from 56 OSCE (Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe) member states, who will gather here on Thursday, are to debate on the Caucacus situation after the recent Russia-Georgia war and the European security at large, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said here on Wednesday.
Stubb, who holds the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE, told a press conference that the above are the "two themes" of the two-day ministerial meeting of the 56-nation organization.
Stubb said the ministers are to hold "general discussion" on the recent war between Georgia and Russia, but will be shy of specific solution on the issue.
Later this month, Russia and Georgia are due to meet for a new round of talks in Geneva, Stubb said he was "optimistic" over the resolving of the issue.
Next week, OSCE officials were to visit Moscow for talks on extending the mandate of OSCE military observers in South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia, Stubb said.
According to Stubb, the OSCE meeting would dwell more on the Caucasus region at large.
On the second theme of the meeting, Stubb said the ministers were to discuss proposals for a new European security structure floated by among others Russia and France.
Stubb said European security structure has remained unchanged "for nearly 20 years after the Cold War," Europe should "renew" and "refresh" the structure to better tackle new security situation.
Stubb stressed the importance of the OSCE in the future European security structure, saying the OSCE was "still very valid," but there was need to look at how it could be refreshed.
According to Stubb, his team has drafted a "two-page political declaration," "the first in six years," which awaits the adoption of the ministers.
OSCE decisions hinge on unanimity, and previous meetings have failed to bridge differences to agree on a document.
The OSCE, evolved from the Helsinki process in 1975, is the world's largest security-oriented inter-governmental organization.
OSCE's 56 participating states are from Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and North America. Created during the Cold War era, OSCE served as an East-West forum, currently it is concerned with issues like arms control, fair elections, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.
Source:Xinhua
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