Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei participates in the 26th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council

06 December 2019

06-12-2019

On December 4-5, 2019 the Belarusian delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vladimir Makei, took part in the 26th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Bratislava (Slovakia).

©Foreign Ministry of Slovakia

Speaking at the plenary session of the Ministerial Council, the Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry emphasized the deepening crisis of confidence in relations among states, escalation of tension, dangerous military build-up, widening of political and ideological divide on the European continent.

V.Makei drew attention to the initiative of the President of Belarus to launch a new broad dialogue on international security issues aimed at bridging contradictions and “reviving the spirit” of the Helsinki process. Foreign Minister reiterated the readiness of Belarus to make a tangible contribution to this process.

Given the termination of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-and Shorter-range Missiles, V.Makei emphasized the initiative of the Head of State to elaborate and adopt a multilateral declaration with a firm commitment not to deploy such weapons in their territories and to refuse to manufacture them.

The Belarusian Foreign Minister stressed the importance of building up joint actions to respond to modern challenges and threats. V.Makei drew attention to the Belarusian initiative to form a “belt of digital neighbourliness” by concluding international agreements on cyber security.

The Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry called on the OSCE participating states to consider elaborating a sort of analogue of the “Marshall Plan” for European security – a plan where states would invest in building joint trust-based security mechanisms.

On the sidelines of the Ministerial Council, V.Makei took part in a traditional informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the CSTO member states that adopted a joint statement on the formation of the common and indivisible security space.

A Ministerial Declaration on the 75th Anniversary of the End of the World War II was adopted on the initiative of Belarus and Russia, which was co-sponsored by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Serbia.

In the course of the working breakfast organized by the recently appointed EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/ Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, for the Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers, an exchange of opinions took place on the situation in the region and the EaP prospects.

Working breakfast for the Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers

During the visit, Minister V.Makei held a working meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform — Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zakharieva, during which a set of issues on the bilateral agenda was discussed.

Foreign Minister of Belarus V.Makei meets the Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform — Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria E.Zakharieva

In the course of the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, the parties elaborated on the prospects of contacts at the highest and high level, ways of further development of the Belarusian-Latvian relations, including in the context of the joint holding of the World Hockey Championship in 2021.

Foreign Minister of Belarus V.Makei meets the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia E.Rinkevics

The issues of expanding the bilateral ties between Belarus and the Netherlands, including in the trade and economic sphere, were discussed at the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Stef Blok.

Foreign Minister of Belarus V.Makei meets the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands S.Blok

An agreement was reached with the Estonian Foreign Minister, Urmas Reinsalu, to intensify the Belarusian-Estonian dialogue in various areas.

Foreign Minister of Belarus V.Makei meets the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia U.Reinsalu

Ways to further increase Belarusian-Polish cooperation in various fields, as well as the prospects for the development of contacts in view of Poland's OSCE Chairmanship in 2022, were touched upon at the meeting with the Polish Foreign Minister, Jacek Czaputowicz.

Foreign Minister of Belarus V.Makei meets the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland J.Czaputowicz

In the course of the meeting with the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Mircea Geoana, topical issues of regional and European security, as well as prospects for further dialogue between the Republic of Belarus and the Alliance were addressed.