U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador Ian Kelly has responded to an address by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Aleksey Meshkov at the OSCE Permanent Council.
“We agree with you that conflicts must be a priority,” Kelly said.
“The fundamental goals of the Helsinki Final Act – refraining from the threat or use of force, sovereign equality, equal rights and self-determination of peoples, territorial integrity of states, peaceful settlement of disputes – must be upheld and advanced by this process,” he added.
The lack of peaceful resolutions to the conflicts in Georgia, Moldova, and Nagorno Karabakh affects every aspect of this organization’s work. The Helsinki+40 effort should have as its goal the achievement of tangible results in every area, including steps to address these protracted conflicts, to ensure an effective OSCE response to situations of crisis or tension, and to facilitate the presence of the OSCE when requested by a participating State,” Kelly said.
