Foreign Ministers and senior officials from the OSCE region meet in d today and tomorrow for the 29th Ministerial Council at the invitation of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau.
Chairman-in-Office Rau addressed the assembled foreign ministers, state secretaries and high-level officials from the OSCE's 57 participating States, 11 Partners for Co-operation, and several senior officials from other international organizations.
Faced with an unprecedented crisis posed by Russia's aggression against Ukraine, I and my Chairmanship team have to bear responsibility for defending the OSCE's principles and protecting its assets, namely its institutions, activities, projects, and not least its achievements, he said. I could not have chosen any other course. We were guided by the spirit of the Helsinki Accords. After the Chairman-in-Office, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Margareta Cederfelt said: We cannot tolerate impunity. The OSCE Ministerial Council should establish a high-level body to examine the damages inflicted by the Russian Federation on Ukraine, and assess the reparations that Russia should be accountable for. In a report to the Ministerial Council, OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid said Russia's war has a devastating impact on Ukraine and its people. In the face of this devastation, the OSCE continues to support Ukraine, including through the new fully donor-funded Support Programme Ukraine, as well as its support to other countries such as Moldova, Central Asia and Southeastern Europe. The OSCE has unique expertise and unique access, and I believe that we owe it to the 1.3 billion people who call our region home to continue this vital work.