COPENHAGEN, 10 September 2020 – The situation in Belarus and ways to revitalize the OSCE through deeper political engagement were among the topics of discussion in meetings this week at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Folketing (Danish Parliament) in Copenhagen.
Meeting today with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli and Secretary General Roberto Montella expressed appreciation for Denmark’s hosting of the PA’s headquarters and its longstanding support for advancing the OSCE’s principles and values. As a country that is politically engaged in the OSCE, Denmark demonstrates the importance of high-level commitment particularly at this time of institutional crisis in the Organization, President Tsereteli said.
Minister Kofod, who once served as Head of the Danish Delegation to the OSCE PA, noted that Denmark is pleased to host the Assembly and expressed full support for the mission of the Organization.
On the topic of Belarus, Kofod pointed out that consideration should be given to invoking the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism, which provides the option of sending missions of experts to assist OSCE participating States in the resolution of a problem relating to the human dimension, and urged stronger efforts to promote dialogue between authorities and opposition leaders.
Read also
He expressed support for the efforts by the OSCE’s Albanian Chairmanship and incoming Swedish Chairmanship in trying to reach out to Belarusian authorities, noting that the OSCE has the mandate and capacities to mediate crisis and that it is crucial to avoid the perception that the West is trying interfering in domestic affairs in Belarus. Denmark has also supported calls of the EU for new elections in Belarus, Minister Kofod said.
President Tsereteli informed Minister Kofod on the web call that had taken place earlier in the day with Andrei Savinykh, Head of the Belarusian Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, in which the sides discussed the current situation in Belarus and the way forward for the country. Tsereteli expressed readiness to visit Belarus and supported similar efforts of the Chairmanship.
The OSCE needs to firmly defend democratic values and signal that violations will not be tolerated, Tsereteli said. Secretary General Montella stressed that the OSCE is the most well equipped in dealing with the situation in Belarus, having the clearest mandate and political capital in this regard.
President Tsereteli and Secretary General Montella met Wednesday with Henrik Dam Kristensen, Speaker of Parliament of Denmark, and OSCE PA Treasurer Peter Juel-Jensen (Denmark) for talks that touched on matters of concern including developments in Belarus, conflicts in the OSCE area and future elections in the OSCE region. The discussions underlined the urgency to address enduring challenges to ensure long-term stability and security.
Denmark’s continued support and interest in the work of the OSCE was noted, as was the valuable input of OSCE parliamentarians in the service of the Organization. The President voiced appreciation for the Folketing’s continued support for MPs to undertake travel on behalf of the PA despite pandemic restrictions, noting that Danish parliamentarian Kristian Jensen recently participated in the PA’s first election observation activity since COVID – the Special Limited Election Observation Mission to Montenegro last month.
Tsereteli and Montella also met with Lars Bo Moller, Director of the Department for European Neighbourhood at the Foreign Ministry, during which the current situation in Belarus was discussed in detail.
OSCE PA