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A meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ended on 6 December without a final document, following Russian objections to a passage concerning its troops in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region. But delegations appeared satisfied that the foreign ministers meeting in Ljubljana had produced results that will go into effect -- even without the formal approval of the conference. In listing the conference's achievements, diplomats gave prominent place to an agreement that should help defuse some Russian criticisms about operations of the OSCE's human rights division.
The two-day conference had opened amid Russian concerns about the organization's election-monitoring activities in former Soviet countries.
But it was another issue altogether that took center stage at the Ljubljana conference, which for the third year in row ended with a statement by the group's chairman rather than a text formally approved by all 55 members.
Diplomats have told RFE/RL that the draft final document failed to win Russian approval largely due to a paragraph referring to the presence of Russian military forces in Moldova's breakaway province of Transdniester. Russia has yet to withdraw its troops from Transdniester, despite having pledged in the summer of 1999 to do so gradually by the end of 2002. The OSCE hailed that pledge in the declaration adopted at its summit in Istanbul in November 1999.
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns addressed that issue at a news conference on 6 December in Ljubljana. "We regret the continued lack of movement in 2005 on the withdrawal of Russian military forces from Moldova, and we call upon the Russian Federation to use its vast influence in the region to resume and complete that important work," he said. "This would also send an important signal to the separatist regime in Tiraspol that a status quo which they may find convenient will not last forever."
Diplomats said that while Russia had doubts about some of the other 22 paragraphs in the draft Ljubljana document, its veto of that document was sparked by one passage: "The foreign ministers of the OSCE note the lack of movement in 2005 on withdrawal of Russian forces from Moldova. They reaffirmed their shared determination to promote the fulfillment of that commitment as soon as possible."
Earlier that day, Burns had linked Moldova to U.S. approval of new agreement on conventional weapons. The proposed agreement says individual countries have the right to decide whether they want foreign troops on their territory or not. He said both Moldova and Georgia had made clear that they do not want Russian troops on their territory.
Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, the outgoing OSCE chairman in office, concluded that "It is unfortunate that after six years we are still debating the 1999 Istanbul commitments on the withdrawal of Russian forces from Moldova."
However, there were signs of progress elsewhere.
The OSCE feels it played a role in progress made this year on
the withdrawal of Russian military forces in Georgia. One diplomat told journalists, "It's ever so slow, but at least there are hints of movement."The OSCE also believes it can take some credit for improvement in another slow-moving negotiation -- the long-running dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. The OSCE has long been involved in efforts to negotiate a settlement. Other players have now been brought into the negotiations.
The two-day gathering also appeared to offer an interim solution to Russian concerns about the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which, among other things, runs election-monitoring operations.
Complaints by Moscow that OSCE election monitoring in places like Belarus, Ukraine, and Georgia were biased led Russia to temporarily block the organization's budget this year.
Speaking to reporters here on 5 December, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced some of Russia's concerns: "As far as the core area [of OSCE activities] is concerned, an area that provokes the most heated discussions, and that is election monitoring, it is absolutely necessary to introduce clear and transparent principles and methods with respect to the composition of observer missions and the appointment of their leaders."
But the next day, Lavrov said Moscow could live with a compromise deal on monitoring.
This month, the ODIHR will conduct an intensive review of what it does and consider whether some of its practices could be improved or changed. At the end of the year, the ODIHR will present its recommendations to the OSCE foreign ministers, who will then decide what changes are needed.
Diplomats in Ljubljana concede that this sets the stage for confrontation next year between pro-ODIHR states and those who oppose its methods. But it did satisfy Russia for the time being.
Most diplomats credit Rupel for creating a new atmosphere in the organization over the last year. Above all, his frequent trips to Moscow and consultations with the Russians are said to have played a major role in recently lifting the veto on the budget.
Rupel also satisfied Russian demands for a revision of the contributions made by the 55 member states to the OSCE budget. The outcome is that Russia will pay less and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy will pay more into the budget.
In his closing address on 6 December, Rupel outlined some of the tasks facing Belgium as it takes over the OSCE chairmanship for the next year. He said the OSCE will have to capitalize on the work done this year in Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh. He strongly urged the government of Kyrgyzstan to expedite constitutional reform, saying, "this was a promise made to the Kyrgyz people and in many ways is a cornerstone of lasting stability."
Speaking about his own region, he said the role of the OSCE in the western Balkans will remain important. He also called on the OSCE to help Serbia achieve a clear European perspective.
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT NOT TO LEAD HIS PARTY IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS. President Viktor Yushchenko told journalists on 6 December that his name will not be on the list of candidates of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine People's Union (NSNU) for the March 2006 parliamentary elections, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Last week, an NSNU convention approved a list of its parliamentary candidates with the name of Yushchenko, as NSNU honorary chairman, at the top. "I want other democratic forces that will come to the Ukrainian parliament in a coalition with Our Ukraine to feel the president's support as well. I don't want the president's name to split our political partners," Yushchenko said. The NSNU is planning to form an election coalition called the Our Ukraine Yushchenko Bloc with five other parties. The NSNU wants its coalition partners to provide 35 percent of the candidates to be included on a joint election list. JM
UKRAINE DISCOVERS NEW SUSPECTED BIRD-FLU CASES. Unexplained deaths of poultry have been registered in four villages in Crimea, in addition to the five villages in which a bird-flu outbreak was discovered last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 December 2005), Interfax-Ukraine reported on 7 December, quoting Mykola Patsyuk from the State Veterinary Department. Patsyuk added that samples of dead poultry were sent to Kyiv for tests to establish whether the birds were infected with avian flu. Moreover, Reuters quoted Emergency Situations Minister Viktor Baloha as saying on 7 December that suspected bird-flu cases were discovered in another village in Crimea not mentioned by Patsyuk. JM
U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE LAUDS UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, DECRIES TORTURE. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on 7 December in Kyiv after meeting with President Yushchenko that she believes the United States and Ukraine" can accelerate the pace of the development of our economic relations, including our trade relations," AFP reported. "We are certainly committed to Ukraine's full integration into the international economy and ultimately into Euro-Atlantic structures," she added. Yushchenko expressed optimism regarding Ukraine's chances of being granted market-economy status by the United States. "We have sent the remaining technical clarifications regarding the steps we have taken in various sectors of the economy and we hope the U.S. will be satisfied with this technical data," he said. Rice also addressed allegations that the U.S. CIA maintains secret prisons in Europe in which torture tactics are employed. "As a matter of U.S. policy, the United States obligations under the CAT (UN Convention Against Torture) which prohibits, of course, cruel and inhumane and degrading treatment, those obligations extend to U.S. personnel wherever they are, whether they are in the United States or outside of the United States," Rice said. MES
UKRAINE REPORTEDLY WANTS TO PAY MORE FOR SOME RUSSIAN GAS. Ukraine has offered to pay a higher price for some of the gas that Russia supplies to the country in 2006, Interfax reported on 7 December, quoting Valerii Yazev, chairman of the State Duma's Energy, Transport, and Communications Committee. According to Yazev, Ukraine wants Russia to supply 25 billion cubic meters of gas in 2006, including 17 billion cubic meters for the current barter price of $50 per 1,000 cubic meters. Yazev added that Ukraine is offering to buy the remaining 8 billion cubic meters at a price that would gradually rise over the course of the year from the $80-$82 currently paid to $90-$96 per 1,000 cubic meters. Ukraine now pays $80 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas supplied by Gazprom outside the existing barter scheme, which involves Russian gas transit to Europe. The Ukrainian president's press service announced on 6 December that President Yushchenko plans to hold a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Russian gas supplies, but no further official report on the issue has been released. JM
A meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ended on 6 December without a final document, following Russian objections to a passage concerning its troops in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region. But delegations appeared satisfied that the foreign ministers meeting in Ljubljana had produced results that will go into effect -- even without the formal approval of the conference. In listing the conference's achievements, diplomats gave prominent place to an agreement that should help defuse some Russian criticisms about operations of the OSCE's human rights division.
The two-day conference had opened amid Russian concerns about the organization's election-monitoring activities in former Soviet countries.
But it was another issue altogether that took center stage at the Ljubljana conference, which for the third year in row ended with a statement by the group's chairman rather than a text formally approved by all 55 members.
Diplomats have told RFE/RL that the draft final document failed to win Russian approval largely due to a paragraph referring to the presence of Russian military forces in Moldova's breakaway province of Transdniester. Russia has yet to withdraw its troops from Transdniester, despite having pledged in the summer of 1999 to do so gradually by the end of 2002. The OSCE hailed that pledge in the declaration adopted at its summit in Istanbul in November 1999.
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns addressed that issue at a news conference on 6 December in Ljubljana. "We regret the continued lack of movement in 2005 on the withdrawal of Russian military forces from Moldova, and we call upon the Russian Federation to use its vast influence in the region to resume and complete that important work," he said. "This would also send an important signal to the separatist regime in Tiraspol that a status quo which they may find convenient will not last forever."
Diplomats said that while Russia had doubts about some of the other 22 paragraphs in the draft Ljubljana document, its veto of that document was sparked by one passage: "The foreign ministers of the OSCE note the lack of movement in 2005 on withdrawal of Russian forces from Moldova. They reaffirmed their shared determination to promote the fulfillment of that commitment as soon as possible."
Earlier that day, Burns had linked Moldova to U.S. approval of new agreement on conventional weapons. The proposed agreement says individual countries have the right to decide whether they want foreign troops on their territory or not. He said both Moldova and Georgia had made clear that they do not want Russian troops on their territory.
Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, the outgoing OSCE chairman in office, concluded that "It is unfortunate that after six years we are still debating the 1999 Istanbul commitments on the withdrawal of Russian forces from Moldova."
However, there were signs of progress elsewhere.
The OSCE feels it played a role in progress made this year on
the withdrawal of Russian military forces in Georgia. One diplomat told journalists, "It's ever so slow, but at least there are hints of movement."The OSCE also believes it can take some credit for improvement in another slow-moving negotiation -- the long-running dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. The OSCE has long been involved in efforts to negotiate a settlement. Other players have now been brought into the negotiations.
The two-day gathering also appeared to offer an interim solution to Russian concerns about the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which, among other things, runs election-monitoring operations.
Complaints by Moscow that OSCE election monitoring in places like Belarus, Ukraine, and Georgia were biased led Russia to temporarily block the organization's budget this year.
Speaking to reporters here on 5 December, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced some of Russia's concerns: "As far as the core area [of OSCE activities] is concerned, an area that provokes the most heated discussions, and that is election monitoring, it is absolutely necessary to introduce clear and transparent principles and methods with respect to the composition of observer missions and the appointment of their leaders."
But the next day, Lavrov said Moscow could live with a compromise deal on monitoring.
This month, the ODIHR will conduct an intensive review of what it does and consider whether some of its practices could be improved or changed. At the end of the year, the ODIHR will present its recommendations to the OSCE foreign ministers, who will then decide what changes are needed.
Diplomats in Ljubljana concede that this sets the stage for confrontation next year between pro-ODIHR states and those who oppose its methods. But it did satisfy Russia for the time being.
Most diplomats credit Rupel for creating a new atmosphere in the organization over the last year. Above all, his frequent trips to Moscow and consultations with the Russians are said to have played a major role in recently lifting the veto on the budget.
Rupel also satisfied Russian demands for a revision of the contributions made by the 55 member states to the OSCE budget. The outcome is that Russia will pay less and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy will pay more into the budget.
In his closing address on 6 December, Rupel outlined some of the tasks facing Belgium as it takes over the OSCE chairmanship for the next year. He said the OSCE will have to capitalize on the work done this year in Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh. He strongly urged the government of Kyrgyzstan to expedite constitutional reform, saying, "this was a promise made to the Kyrgyz people and in many ways is a cornerstone of lasting stability."
Speaking about his own region, he said the role of the OSCE in the western Balkans will remain important. He also called on the OSCE to help Serbia achieve a clear European perspective.