We join in thanking Ambassador Traavik for his
willingness to fly to Vienna and provide us with a fresh
readout of Minister Vollebaek’s trip.
We commend the Chairman-in-Office for his efforts
during his trip to the North Caucasus, which was an
important first step toward fulfilling the commitments
made in the Istanbul Declaration.
We must now build upon these efforts to end the cycle
of violence and begin a political dialogue in Chechnya.
Russia has an obligation to stop indiscriminate and
disproportionate use of force against civilians, to
provide for the safety of all civilians affected by the
conflict, and to ensure that people who want to flee the
conflict can do so.
Mr. Chairman, we welcome the declaration of the
European Union at its recent summit in Helsinki, which
stated that, "only a political solution can put an end
to the crisis," a point you have underlined in your own
report. This is in tune with the Istanbul Declaration,
which also envisaged a continuing political role for the
OSCE.
We support the call for a
cease-fire and will give further consideration to the
idea of a Regional Conference.
The Istanbul Declaration clearly envisioned a process
in which the trip of the Chairman-in-Office is but the
first step.
We applaud and strongly support the Chairmanship’s
efforts to promote dialogue between the parties in
Chechnya, and to move the conflict from the battlefield
to the negotiating table.
We look forward to continuing strong leadership on
this issue from the Norwegian Chairmanship, as well as
from the incoming Austrian Chairmanship beginning in
January.
