Minister Andrews says OSCE Mission will help stabilise Kosovo
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. David Andrews, addressed a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) at Oslo this morning. The Minister said that the question of political will is crucial to the further development of the OSCE and its future contribution to European security. He said that pragmatic instruments are already in place and that participating States must hone these to the requirements of time and place.
Among these instruments are the individual OSCE missions, including the Kosovo Verification Mission. Minister Andrews said that the grim reality of ethnic-based conflict in Kosovo represents a challenge of unprecedented size and complexity for the OSCE. The Mission should "help provide a stable and peaceful future for all of the people now living in Kosovo", said the Minister. He announced that Ireland will be contributing personnel to the Kosovo Mission.
Minister Andrews also had a series of bilateral meetings in the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council. He discussed a wide range of matters of mutual interest with the Foreign Ministers of Slovakia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Croatia and Kyrgystan.
