Head of the Department of Information, Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus D.Mironchik answers question of the news agency “BelTA”

14 March 2017

14-03-2017

News Agency “BelTA”: Could you confirm the news circulating in the mass media about the nomination of the Ambassador of Belarus to Austria, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the OSCE, Alena Kupchyna, to the position of the OSCE Secretary General?

D.Mironchik: The tenure of the current OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, expires on June 30, 2017. We have decided to nominate Ambassador Kupchyna, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the OSCE to this post.

This decision is driven by Belarus’ earnest desire to contribute to strengthening of the OSCE in the best interests of all participating States. Amid heated regional conflicts, growth of contradictions among global players the role of the OSCE is becoming vitally important again.

Alena Kupchyna, having served as Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus for a long time, was directly involved in implementing the foreign policy course of our country aimed at strengthening security and stability in Europe, building East-West dialogue, reconciling the most acute crisis situations in the region.

We are convinced that her erudition, long-term and multi-faceted diplomatic experience and extensive international contacts will be instrumental in increasing the OSCE effectiveness, solving complex tasks this Organization is faced with, including the most important and difficult issue, that is coping with confidence crisis among the OSCE participating States.

I’d like to point out that the selection procedure of the new Secretary General has just started. On March 14, 2017 first informal hearings of the candidates were held in Vienna, in the course of which the contestants shared their priorities with permanent representatives of the OSCE participating States. Alena Kupchyna has worthy contenders indeed. However we feel certain of high qualifications of our candidate and hope that she will be selected.

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