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ANKARA: OSCE Ministers Meet For Security Talks In Athens

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  • ANKARA: OSCE Ministers Meet For Security Talks In Athens

    OSCE MINISTERS MEET FOR SECURITY TALKS IN ATHENS

    Hurriyet Daily News
    Dec 1 2009
    Turkey

    Foreign policy chiefs from 56 countries hope to agree on a rare
    political declaration on common security structure at a two-day
    meeting that opened in Athens on Tuesday.

    If an agreement can be reached, it would be the first time since 2002
    that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has
    settled on a common political declaration. "Security in our region
    remains a work in progress. The global crisis has affected all our
    countries," said Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is also
    the country's foreign minister. "The new dialogue on European security
    can be meaningful only insofar as it is tied to concrete progress on
    key security challenges," he said.

    Greece holds the rotating OSCE chairmanship until January. OSCE
    countries have a wide range of security problems to contend with,
    including the situation in Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea and Iran,
    and the aftermath of Russia's war with Georgia last year. Russian
    Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to expand on proposals by
    President Dmitry Medvedev for a new European security structure. The
    blueprint has met with a wary reception from many western OSCE members.

    Russia also urged the United States and NATO to keep it better informed
    about their plans for the war in Afghanistan. George A.

    Kroll, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian
    Affairs, said the OSCE "is a very good venue for the continuation
    of the discussions and cooperation the United States and Russia are
    doing across a wide agenda of issues."

    Papandreou asked those attending to take Turkey and Armenia as an
    example for the OSCE. The two countries ended a century of hostility
    this year by agreeing to establish diplomatic relations. Ankara
    fiercely opposes claims that the mass killing of Armenians during the
    final days of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I amounted
    to genocide. "The bold decision taken by Turkey and Armenia have not
    been easy but they have been important. We must now take this same
    spirit of reconciliation to the unresolved conflicts that persist in
    the OSCE area," Papandreou said.

    Speaking on Monday, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris
    Delavekouras said organizers hoped "that by Wednesday afternoon we will
    be able to announce real progress on every issue." Several foreign
    ministers also planned to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines
    of the conference.
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