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OSCE Police Advisory Team In Kyrgyzstan Has To Start Its Mission This Year, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Says

During his visit to New York, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis urged Kyrgyzstan to enable the police advisory team of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to start its duties in Kyrgyzstan already this year.

This particular and other issues of Lithuania-Kyrgyztan co-operation in OSCE were discussed at the meeting of Minister A.Ažubalis and his Kyrgyz counterpart’s Ruslan Kazakbayev on 21 September.

As it has been agreed, the OSCE police advisory team in Kyrgyzstan will be composed of 52 police officers. 50 more experts could be recruited later on. The initial duration of the team’s mission is four months. It is expected that it will contribute to the settlement of the situation in the country, will help the Kyrgyz government to restore public order and to strengthen the institutions ensuring it. The team is also expected to help reducing ethnic tensions. Deputy Director of Lithuania’s National Police School Alvydas Šakočius has been appointed advisor to the head of this team.
 

> Map of Kyrgyzstan
 
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister also informed about the intention to delegate two representatives of Lithuania to the OSCE election observation mission during the forthcoming elections in Kyrgyzstan.

According to the head of Kyrgyz diplomacy, the country has chosen the way of parliamentary democracy. The Minister informed that 27 political parties have already been registered in Kyrgyzstan and active electoral campaign has been launched.

Minister R.Kazakbayev stressed the importance of international commission for the investigation of the reasons for mass disorders in Kyrgyzstan.

The Commission headed by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative for Central Asia Kimmo Kiljunen investigates the conflict between local Uzbek and Kyrgyz people in southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010.

In New York, Minister A.Ažubalis also met with his Georgian and Kazakh colleagues Grigol Vashadze and Kanat Saudabayev, and Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden Gunilla Carlsson.

At the meeting with Georgian Minister on 20 September, the parties discussed bilateral issues and the perspectives of further Lithuanian and Georgian cooperation in international organizations. Minister G.Vashadze thanked Lithuania for the support regarding the resolution that recognizes the right of return for internally displaced persons in Georgia, the resolution was recently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

On 21 September, Ministers A.Ažubalis  and G.Carlsson discussed the cooperation between Sweden and Lithuania in the preparation and implementation of the Eastern Neighbourhood projects in the field of cooperation for development.

At the meeting of Lithuanian and Kazakh foreign ministers which was held on the same day, the cooperation in the OSCE Troika and the bilateral cooperation issues were discussed. Kazakhstan chairs the OSCE this year; Lithuania will take over the lead of this organization next year.

The Ministers discussed the preparations for the December summit of the OSCE member states in Astana. Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaitė is invited to this summit. According to Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, this meeting has to be a substantive event with tangible results.

On 21 September, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister met with American Jewish Committee (AJC) representatives and acquainted them with the Resolution of Seimas proclaiming 2011 as the Year of Holocaust Remembrance in Lithuania. This information has been received with great interest. The representatives of AJC confirmed that they were ready to fully support the preparation of the respective programme.

The restitution, fight against anti-Semitism, ways of teaching tolerance, Lithuania’s chairmanship of the OSCE, were also discussed during the meeting.

In the evening, Minister A.Ažubalis participated at the meeting of foreign ministers of the EU member states with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the the Middle East Peace Process, Iran, the Western Balkans, Pakistan and Afghanistan issues.

Minister A.Ažubalis is paying a visit to New York on 20-28 September
  
   
Ministry of foreign affairs of The Republic of Lithuania
  
  

 

 
24.09.2010