Crisis in and around Ukraine threatens our security – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovakia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák said this in a statement during the 18th winter meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) in Vienna, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

“The crisis in and around Ukraine continues to undermine our principles and threatens our security. And it´s the civilians paying the highest costs,” he said.

According to Lajčák, he used his visit to Ukraine last month to collect feedback from OSCE monitors, and appealed to Ukrainian partners to actively promote a lasting ceasefire.

“I paid a visit to Moscow last Tuesday and conveyed the same message in support of dialogue to our Russian partners,” he added.

He recalled that one of the priorities of the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship was the effective use and development of the OSCE tools to prevent, mitigate and resolve conflicts.

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office also stressed the importance of the OSCE’s strategic partnerships with other international organizations, in particular with the Council of Europe and the UN Security Council. In order to harmonize and better support joint efforts, he will visit the Council of Europe next week and engage with the United Nations Security Council in March.

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