After his recent visit to Ukraine, Linkevičius drew the attention of the OSCE Ministers to Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine. Lithuania's Foreign Minister also stressed that it was important to implement the Minsk agreements as soon as possible and called on the OSCE Ministers to maintain this issue on the OSCE political agenda as a priority.
"The Minsk agreements are not being implemented, Russian troops and weapons remain in the territory of Ukraine, violations of the ceasefire are reported on a daily basis. It is clear that the conflict is not over, so we need to continue our political dialogue on this issue at the OSCE level. This dialogue shall lead to an agreement on how to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine in line with the OSCE principles and commitments," stressed the head of Lithuania's diplomacy.
Linkevičius also called for the strengthening of the OSCE activities in Ukraine, including on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula.
"In the light of the ongoing conflict, we have to strive for a mandate to the OSCE to ensure the permanent monitoring of the Ukrainian-Russian border. It is necessary to further strengthen the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. We also cannot ignore the report of the OSCE's institutions, which revealed the alarming human rights situation on the Crimean peninsula – we need to start discussions on the OSCE's greater involvement in Crimea in order to carry out an independent monitoring of the human rights situation," noted Lithuania's Foreign Minister.
The incoming Chairperson, Germany's Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier noted that in the coming year a lot of attention would be given to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the OSCE would strive for the peaceful settlement of the crisis and to build confidence among the OSCE participating States, as well as to restore respect for the OSCE's foundational principles and obligations.
The OSCE Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE, and it plays a pivotal political role. The Ministerial Council meets once a year to review the OSCE activities, consider issues on the OSCE agenda and provide guidelines for further work.
