AT BILATERAL MEETINGS IN ISTANBUL, LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSED OSCE ACTIVITIES AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
On 10-11 May, Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis discussed cooperation within international bodies and other issues of the OSCE activity at the meetings with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, foreign ministers of Turkey, Ukraine and Croatia.
Meetings were held in Istanbul along with the 121st Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.Minister A.Ažubalis thanked Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland for setting up an office in Vienna for relations with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), other international organizations and supported his initiative regarding the reviewing of the format of trilateral cooperation of the (CoE), OSCE and UN.
The outgoing Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu was thanked for sharing Turkey’s experience. Ministers discussed the OSCE Secretary General election issues.
Topical issues on the agenda, the strengthening of cooperation between CoE and OSCE, and other important issues were discussed at the meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, who is taking over the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE.
K.Gryshchenko confirmed that he will participate in the Conference on Safety of Journalists in the OSCE Region on 7-8 June in Vilnius.
Foreign ministers discussed the possibility of sharing Lithuania’s experience with Ukraine, as the country will chair the OSCE in 2013.
Croatia’s EU negotiating process was discussed at the meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Croatia Gordan Jandroković. Minister A.Ažubalis said that Lithuania strongly supported Croatia’s EU membership aspirations and looked forward to the conclusion of the negotiations with the EU as soon as possible.
Head of the Lithuanian diplomacy invited A.Davutoglu and G.Jandroković to come to Lithuania in the beginning of September to watch the teams of their countries play at the European Men’s Basketball Championship.
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