NATO and the OSCE exchange views on situation in Ukraine

• The Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Ambassador Lamberto Zannier, visited NATO HQ on Wednesday 12 November. Ambassador Zannier met with NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg. He also addressed the North Atlantic Council, where he exchanged views with NATO Ambassadors on the situation in Ukraine and on the activities carried out by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission.

During the discussions, the members of the North Atlantic Council praised the OSCE’s ongoing efforts to help defuse the crisis in Ukraine. The OSCE is key to the international efforts to address the biggest challenge to Euro-Atlantic security in decades, Mr. Stoltenberg said.

At the Wales Summit, NATO expressed full support for the actions of international organizations, in particular the OSCE, that are contributing to de-escalation and the pursue of a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine. NATO welcomed the swift deployment of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, which makes a key contribution to providing unbiased monitoring of developments on the ground.
The NATO Secretary General stressed that the importance of the OSCE for NATO is broader, since both organizations are crucial parts of Europe’s security architecture.

 He said that the Alliance strives to further enhance cooperation with other international organisations, such as the OSCE, as part of NATO’s contribution to the comprehensive approach of the international community. NATO and the OSCE have a long standing cooperation, which covers a wide span of regional and thematic areas.

Both the Chairman-in-Office and the Secretary General of the OSCE attended the NATO Summit in Wales held in September 2014. At the Summit, NATO leaders pledged to strengthen the political dialogue and practical cooperation with partners, including the OSCE. They launched several initiatives, such as Defence Capability Building Initiative and the Interoperability Platform. The OSCE has been invited to cooperate with these initiatives and has expressed interest to join. Discussions on the practical implementation of this process have already started.