In this speech named “Ukraine’s
Foreign Policy: OSCE Chairmanship”, Leonid Kozhara, the Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Ukraine, shares his country’s foreign policy priorities as well as
the country’s visions for the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe) as Ukraine takes over the chairmanship this year. He addresses
issues in security Ukraine will try to address, such as the proliferation of
nuclear weapons, environmental challenges, human trafficking, freedom of the
press, and more.
Esteemed President Jardfelt,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to
express my gratitude to the Swedish Institute of International Affairs for this
opportunity to speak to you today.
I am encouraged
by your interest towards my country at this very important moment of time.
Today I am glad
to share with you my vision of Ukraine’s foreign policy priorities with a
special focus on the OSCE Chairmanship that Ukraine undertakes this year.
I will also
touch upon bilateral relations between Ukraine and Sweden, as well as Ukraine’s
European integration agenda.
OSCE
Chairmanship means leading the world’s largest regional security organization,
and as such it is a great responsibility for me personally and for my country.
There are two
distinctive features, which make the OSCE different and irreplaceable in the
row of other actors playing in the field of regional security.
The first is its
wide geographical scope, with 57 participating States stretching from Vancouver
to Vladivostok.
The second is
its comprehensive security mandate, covering three dimensions of security:
politico-military, economic and environmental, human, as well as
cross-dimensional issues.
Dag
Hammarskjöld, one of the most prominent Swedish diplomats of all times, wrote
back in 1963: "Only in true surrender to the interest of all can we reach
that strength and independence, that unity of purpose, that equity of judgment
which are necessary if we are to measure up to our duty."
Acting in the
interest of all, as a bridge-builder across diverging views, Ukraine continues
to work on important issues, where consensus so far proved elusive.
We attach
particular attention to maintaining a balanced approach across all three OSCE
dimensions, as well as to promoting trust, confidence and reconciliation among
the participating States.
The Helsinki+40
process, initiated last year at the Dublin Ministerial, seems to be a promising
network for facilitating these tasks.
We should not
confine this anniversary to a mere commemoration. The Ukrainian Chairmanship
will focus the Helsinki+40 on the implementation of practical steps, in
particular on overcoming divergences and clarifying the role and goals of the
OSCE in the modern security landscape.
Dear friends,
Olof Palme said in
his famous Gävle speech of July 1965: "It is an illusion to believe that
it is possible to meet demands for social justice with violence and military
might".
Sharing fully
this vision, we are concerned with the current situation in the area of
conventional arms control and decrease of the level of mutual confidence and
transparency in the military sphere.
The ongoing
deadlock on the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe deprives us of a
significant instrument for building confidence in military matters.
As a state which
chose not to belong to any politico-military alliance, Ukraine feels the
necessity of finding the way out.
Thus, we see
high relevance of our initiative to launch dialogue in the OSCE Forum for
Security Cooperation aimed at discussing the role conventional arms control can
play in current and future European security architecture.
As a strong
advocate of global regime of non-proliferation, Ukraine together with Poland,
Belarus and Kazakhstan initiated the update of the 1994 OSCE Principles
Governing Non-Proliferation to take into account current developments, trends
and challenges in the sphere of WMD non-proliferation.
Unresolved
conflicts in the OSCE area continue to represent a serious threat to our
regional stability and remain a major concern to all OSCE participating States.
Ukraine is
strongly determined to contribute to the Transdniestrian settlement process. As
a state-guarantor and co-mediator Ukraine believes that the “5+2” format
remains the key instrument for achieving a comprehensive settlement.
We are doing and
will do our best to promote a positive atmosphere in the negotiation process
and to support the Parties’ will to continue an open dialogue.
This
year two official meetings in the “5+2” format have been held under the
Ukrainian Chairmanship in the Ukrainian cities of Lviv and Odesa.
Ukraine fully
supports the work within the framework of the Geneva International Discussions
aimed at solving pressing security and humanitarian issues in the areas of
conflict in Georgia.
The situation
around Nagorno-Karabakh settlement requires continued and close attention on
the part of the OSCE. Ukraine lends its support to the efforts of the Minsk
Group Co-Chairs in assisting the parties to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Security,
political and economic transitions in Afghanistan as well as the upcoming
withdrawal of the international security forces from Afghanistan in 2014 will
continue to have security implications for the OSCE area. Therefore, we will
further explore areas that require enhanced interaction with Afghanistan and
improved coordination with relevant international actors.
In pursuing this
objective, the OSCE Ukrainian Chairmanship exerts every effort to facilitate
in-depth discussions on Organisation’s engagement with Afghanistan. In our
view, the OSCE should elaborate a common perspective on the strategies that
need to be pursued to support effective transition in Afghanistan and to
respond to potential security challenges.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Without properly
addressing existing and potential challenges in the economic and environmental
sphere it is impossible to promote comprehensive security and to build lasting
peace and stability in the OSCE region.
Ukraine proposed
the topic of this year’s OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum “Increasing
stability and security: Improving the environmental footprint of energy related
activities in the OSCE region”.
It would provide
an opportunity to discuss energy and environmental challenges to security, as
well as to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy cooperation in the
OSCE area.
Together with
the Turkmen partners we put forward the initiative of holding a High Level
International Conference on Energy Security in Ashgabat in October this year.
We count on the active engagement of all participating States in implementing
this initiative.
Dear colleagues,
Finally, the
Ukrainian Chairmanship is convinced that our commitment to the Human Dimension
of security is at the core of the OSCE concept of comprehensive security.
The fight
against trafficking in human beings remains one of the key issues addressed by
the OSCE under the Ukrainian Chairmanship.
A number of
public events have been organized, including the international conference on
strengthening of the OSCE response to trafficking in human beings, which will
be held in Kyiv in June.
Further
priorities in this dimension include strengthening freedom of the media.
Two weeks ago a
Human Rights Seminar in Warsaw contributed to sharing best practices for the
development of legal frameworks, which would safeguard free, independent and
pluralistic media.
We will also
strive to achieve progress in the areas of free movement of people, promotion
of tolerance and non-discrimination, freedom of association and assembly,
inter-religious dialogue in promoting freedom of religion or belief, as well as
democratic elections and election observation.
Finally, this
summer we will host the OSCE Youth Summit in the Crimea, Ukraine.
This event is
aimed at engaging youth representatives from all OSCE participating States,
raising their awareness of current security issues and challenges, as well as
promoting mutual understanding and principles of tolerance and
non-discrimination.
Let me tackle
briefly one more theme. Neutral or non-aligned nations in the Euro-Atlantic
area, including Sweden and Ukraine, can make a positive contribution in the
security environment in a number of ways.
They can be
efficient, unbiased and honest political brokers. They may put forth new ideas
and initiatives which are not tinted by bloc-to-bloc approaches.
And they are the
glue that may connect different worlds with diverging sets of values and
security concerns.
From a
geopolitical point of view, neutral or non-aligned states also strengthen security
of others by establishing predictable and long-lasting security arrangements
with no surprises or shifts in the future.
Dear friends,
I would like to
speak now about bilateral relations between Ukraine and Sweden and their
importance for Ukraine’s European integration.
The development
of friendly and mutually beneficial ties with Sweden is traditionally of great
significance for Ukraine.
Sweden
recognised independence of Ukraine in 1991. The state visit of His Majesty King
Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden to Ukraine in
autumn 2008 was the important milestone in the Ukrainian-Swedish relations.
For more than
twenty years Sweden has consistently supported democratic reforms and economic
transformation in my country.
The high level
officials maintain intensive political contacts. We appreciate the frank and
open political dialogue with Sweden over the prospects of the European
integration of Ukraine.
Sweden is
Ukraine’s largest trading partner in Northern Europe and ranks the ninth place
among 130 countries that made their investments in our economy last year. More
than a hundred Swedish companies operate in Ukraine.
I believe that
many Swedes who visited Ukraine last year for another Pan-European project,
Euro 2012, became interested in further exploring business opportunities there.
We welcome the Vikings of modern time in Ukraine for reasons of deepening trade
cooperation, developing of people-to-people contacts and simply for tourist
reasons.
I would like to
take this occasion to stress once again Ukraine’s commitment to sign the
Association Agreement at Vilnius Eastern Partnership summit this year and to
continue gradually and constantly with implementation of internal reforms.
We positively
assess the progress in technical preparation of the Agreement for signature and
look forward to adoption of the relevant decision by the European Council.
The Government
of Ukraine makes every effort in implementing the comprehensive modernization
agenda aimed at achieving European standards in all spheres. Electoral,
judiciary and constitutional reforms are three main pillars of such activity.
I should
underline that this progress is already significant and quite tangible. This is
to illustrate that Ukraine is serious in its intent to modernize itself in line
with European standards. We are doing this work not just for the sake of
putting ticks to a number of formal benchmarks. We are doing that for
ourselves.
We count on the
support of our Swedish partners in this endeavour.
Dear friends!
As you say in
Sweden, "visdomen har långa öron och kort tunga" (wisdom has long
ears and short tongue). This makes me stop here as my intention is not a
monologue but a lively and thought-provoking discussion.
Thank you.
Leonid Kozhara, Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Ukraine, “Ukraine’s Foreign Policy: OSCE Chairmanship,” Swedish Institute of
International Affairs, May 29, 2013. http://mfa.gov.ua/en. Source
for speech.
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