Jim Higgins
Ceist:69 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the recent OSCE summit in Turkey. [25487/99]
Vol. 512 No. 2
69 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the recent OSCE summit in Turkey. [25487/99]
The OSCE summit in Istanbul on 18-19 November 1999 was the first meeting of OSCE Heads of State and Government in three years. The previous summit was held in Lisbon in 1996, during Ireland's Presidency of the European Union.
Ireland was represented at the summit in Istanbul by the Taoiseach. A total of 54 states participated in the summit, including almost all the European States , as well as the US and Canada.
An important feature of the OSCE is that its decisions are achieved by consensus among its participating states. On this basis the summit agreed the Istanbul summit declaration and adopted the OSCE Charter for European Security. Copies of the Summit Declaration and the Charter for European Security have been placed in the Dáil Library.
The summit reviewed the OSCE's role in a range of conflict or potential conflict areas. In relation to Chechnya, Russia agreed that a political solution is essential and that the assistance of the OSCE would contribute to achieving that goal. Russia also agreed to a visit by the OSCE chairman in office to the region and joined with other delegations in reaffirming the mandate of the OSCE assistance group in Chechnya. However, I am deeply disappointed that, in the aftermath of the summit, Russia has not availed of OSCE assistance to try to resolve the conflict. I understand that the OSCE chairman in office, Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek, had to leave Moscow on Monday, 29 November without being able to fix a date for an OSCE mission to the region. Ireland would like to see an OSCE mission in Chechnya at the earliest possible date and we will continue to work closely with EU partners and within the OSCE towards that end.