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Foreign ministries of Belarus and Russia call for OSCE reform

 

Participants at a round of consultations held by the foreign ministries of Belarus and Russia in Moscow on Wednesday called for reforming the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including its election observation practices.

Raman Ramanowski, head of the European Cooperation Directorate, led the Belarusian delegation to the meeting, which focused on cooperation within the OSCE and the Council of Europe, according to the Belarusian ministry’s press office.

The Russian delegation was headed by Aleksei Polushchuk, deputy head of the European Cooperation Department.

The delegations noted the need to step up humanitarian cooperation within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, make the work of the OSCE and the Council of Europe more transparent, and increase the transparency of the OSCE’s project activities, the press office said.

They discussed the current state of the OSCE and the prospects for more active military-political, economic and environmental, and humanitarian cooperation under the aegis of the OSCE.

Also under discussion was the “Helsinki plus 40” OSCE reform process and a number of issues concerning relations with the Council of Europe. // BelaPAN