• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Foreign Minister Tsahkna: We will not allow a country breaching the basic principles of the OSCE to dictate the organisation's future

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

27.09.2023

Yesterday, 26 September, Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna attended an extraordinary session of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) via video link.

The agenda for the session covered Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and other pressing issues within the OSCE.

In his address, Minister Tsahkna stressed that the primary objective of the OSCE is to support Ukraine in the full-scale war of aggression being waged against it by Russia. "In breaching the basic principles and obligations of the OSCE, Russia has significantly undermined the organisation's capacity to function and triggered the biggest crisis the OSCE has faced in its history," he said.

"We find ourselves in a situation where the organisation's chairmanship remains to be filled for the coming year, a budget has gone unapproved for the second year in succession and the mandates of the Secretary General and the heads of the OSCE's independent institutions are set to expire. Under such circumstances we must show that we are capable of being creative and find solutions which do not negatively impact the future of the OSCE or its basic principles and which enable it to continue its very important work," Tsahkna said.

Minister Tsahkna added that Estonia is the only candidate for the chairmanship of the organisation in 2024 and that it would not withdraw its nomination. "We respect the basic principles of the OSCE and do not, and will not, make any compromises in regard to them. Estonia is more than willing to lead the work of the OSCE forward," he said.