Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 5 July (BelTA) – Minsk is a recognized venue for international diplomacy, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) Christine Muttonen said at the plenary session dedicated to the formal opening of the 26th OSCE PA annual session in Minsk on 5 July, BelTA has learned.

Christine Muttonen emphasized that for decades Minsk has been recognized as a venue for the work of international diplomacy and for resolving conflicts. The diplomat noted that this is synonymous to the effort to achieve a peaceful settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Belarusian capital hosts meetings of the trilateral contact group promoting a peaceful settlement in Ukraine. “We are committed to uphold the Minsk accords and call for their full implementation,” Christine Muttonen pointed out.

The conflict in Ukraine will be discussed during the session in Minsk along with other topical issues such as terrorism and migration.

The 26th OSCE PA Annual Session is running in the Belarusian capital on 5-9 July. The theme of the session is “Enhancing mutual trust and cooperation for peace and prosperity in the OSCE region.” The agenda of the session comprises reports of three general committees: on political affairs and security; on economic affairs, science, technology, and environment; on democracy, human rights, and humanitarian affairs.

Resolutions to be adopted as a result of the discussions will lay the foundation of the Minsk declaration, which will formulate recommendations for national governments, parliaments, and the international community on response to pressing challenges and threats. The declaration will also include a number of additional resolutions initiated by individual MPs. The resolutions target a large number of matters, including counter-terrorism, migration challenges, religious discrimination, energy security, and others.

Belarus has prepared the resolution “Development of timely and effective legislative, regulatory, administrative measures to respond to the emergence of new psychoactive substances.” Besides, the Belarusian side has co-sponsored several resolutions developed by foreign counterparts. These documents, for example, relate to the fight against terrorism (Russia), problems of intolerance and discrimination on religious grounds (Russia), prevention of sexual exploitation of children on the Internet (United States), democratic development values of multiculturalism (Azerbaijan).