The 31st OSCE Ministerial Meeting has been concluded yesterday with an agreement on the organisation’s future and administration. A compromise has been reached on the secretary-general with Turkey taking on the role. Former Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu will head the organisation as its SEcretary General. Maria Telalian from Greece, who worked as a jurist for the Greek government will head the OSCE’s human rights directorate. Dutch diplomat Christophe Kamp will be the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. Norwegian ambassador Jan Braathu will be the OSCE representative on Freedom of the Media.
Turkey has been considered as a compromise candidate to head the organisation given it has steady diplomatic relationships with both Russia and Ukraine. Turkey is also a NATO member. Ukraine was the main topic discussed during the conference and in bilateral meetings with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha lobbying Western allies to speed up pledged weapons transfers. Some European states showed Ukraine fatigue during bilateral negotiations but the United Kingdom remains strongly supportive. France could not contribute about Ukraine with any confidence given that there is no government in France right now and only permanent diplomats were present at the conference representing France.
Eastern European states protested against the presence of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergy Lavrov with some of them including the Baltic states walking out of the conference room as he began speaking. The Ukrainian community in Malta also held a protest outside the conference centre protesting Lavrov’s presence.
Next year’s OSCE Ministerial conference will take place in Helsinki, Finland in commemoration of the Helsinki Act of 1975 (the one which Dom Mintoff insisted to include a reference to the Mediterranean Sea).
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