IN THE LETTER OF THE U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE TO LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER THE OSCE ACHIEVEMENTS DURING LITHUANIAN CHAIRMANSHIP ARE STRESSED
The Secretary of State of the United States Hillary Clinton in the appreciation letter to Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis congratulated him on successful Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It was also stressed that under A.Ažubalis’ leadership important achievements were made in the organization. “Please accept my sincere congratulations on the completion of your year as the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and on successful Ministerial Council Meeting in Vilnius,” is written in the letter of the U.S. Secretary of State received on 18 January. H.Clinton underlined such important OSCE achievements as the resumption of official 5+2 talks on Transdniestrian settlement, enhanced cooperation in Afghanistan, outreach to the Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation, adoption of new tools for addressing the conflict cycle and promotion of equal opportunity for women in economic sphere.
According to the U.S. Secretary of State, the OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting in Vilnius on 6-7 December provided an excellent platform for highlighting the human rights situation across the OSCE region, particularly in Belarus and other states of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.“It also allowed for robust civil society participation, surely one of the OSCE’s unique strengths among security organizations. Your personal involvement – meeting with civil society representatives, personally accepting recommendations of the parallel civil society event and North African NGOs and disseminating those recommendations – set a powerful precedent for future Chairmanships,” the letter reads.
