Unrest in Ukraine: Pro-Russian separatists have stormed police buildings in the north-east of the country
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The success of the mission by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is measured by whether it is able to help de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, according to the Swiss ambassador to the OSCE, Thomas Greminger.
In a syndicated interview with the Tages-Anzeiger and Der Bund newspapers, Greminger says the role of the OSCE should not be burdened with too many expectations.
“The OSCE can only try to defuse tensions, provide ideas and mediate,” he said.
Switzerland this year holds the presidency of the 57-nation body with Greminger as chairman of the Vienna-based permanent OSCE Council and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter as acting president.
Greminger says the crisis in Ukraine is a “blessing and a curse” for the organisation as it allows the 57-nation body to step out of the shadows and increase its international profile which became blurred after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“Over the past weeks and months the OSCE has been able to show that it has the tools to develop confidence building measures. We succeeded in deploying the first major OSCE observer missions since the 1990s.”
However, the crisis is a setback for fundamental tenets of international law and planned reforms of OSCE decision-making structure, according to Greminger.
Switzerland has been given mixed reviews so far for its role as head of the organisation.
Greminger says criticism from two key OSCE members, Russia and the United States, can be hard, but it shows that Switzerland is an impartial chair.
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Burkhalter seeks to defuse Ukrainian crisis
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Burkhalter, who is Swiss president and foreign minister, said the number of OSCE observers could be boosted to up to 300 people. There are currently 121 OSCE representatives, including 85 observers, deployed in about ten cities in Ukraine. The situation in eastern cities of Ukraine remains tense and volatile, but the observer missions in the…
On Monday, Foreign Minister Burkhalter visited the OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine.
He said the number of international observers would be increased to about 300 from 85 currently deployed in about ten cities in Ukraine.
Burkhalter described the observers as “the eyes and ears of the international community” as they gathered information, establishing facts and reporting in an impartial manner.
He also stressed the importance of the OSCE mission for the observation of the planned presidential elections in Ukraine next month, according to an official statement.
In talks with members of the Ukrainian government in the capital, Kiev, Burkhalter called on all sides in the conflict to de-escalate the situation.
He stressed the importance of dialogue and welcomed a planned meeting in Geneva on Thursday of representatives from the European Union, Russia, the US and Ukraine.
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Envoy reports stability in Ukraine
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During a news conference in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, on Wednesday Guldimann reported that situation in the regions he visited is “stable” but that people there tend not to trust state authority, especially on issues including policing and the use of force. He added that local areas could fall victim to the slow process of…
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Swiss President and Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter is in a quandary: how to reconcile Switzerland’s excellent diplomatic relations with Russia and his role as head of the OSCE. His latest statements about the hastily organised Crimean referendum on switching the Black Sea peninsula’s allegiance back to Russia shows how much of a balancing act it…
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Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Burkhalter said the contact group would support Ukraine during its transition and coordinate aid; it could also discuss sending observers to monitor the rights of national minorities. “Recent events unfolding before our eyes in Ukraine have shown us that peace, security and human rights…
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The Swiss ambassador in Kiev also played a key role in helping transfer the building to the control of the authorities. “The gesture by opposition protesters to end their occupation of the Kiev city administration building is a positive development. I strongly hope this brings Ukraine closer to a resolution of the current deadlock through…
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The task is not new to Switzerland since it headed up the Vienna-based organisation nearly 20 years ago. But the challenges it faces are daunting – local conflicts in southeastern Europe and the Caucasus region, as well as necessary institutional reforms amid tensions between the United States and Russia, two major OSCE member countries, at…
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