Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei participates in the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting

On December 1-3, 2021 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, visited Sweden to participate in the 28th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council.

In his statement at the plenary session of the Ministerial Council, V.Makei noted the escalation of the confrontation and emergence of new dividing lines in the OSCE area. The Belarusian Foreign Minister emphasized the inadmissibility of external interference, sanctions pressure and the use of double standards in assessing the situation in Belarus including in the context of the migration conditions on the Western borders of the country. V.Makei called for the return of the dialogue to a constructive track and the implementation of measures leading to the de-escalation of tensions and the restoration of mutual trust.

The Ministerial Council also held separate meetings during which the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE participating States exchanged views on enhancing the effectiveness of the Organization's activities, as well as on the situation in Afghanistan.

V.Makei participated in the CSTO Foreign Ministers' working meeting, during which the issues related to co-ordination of activities within the OSCE were discussed, as well as joint efforts to respond to urgent security challenges and to counteract attempts by some countries to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states, pressure and imposition of an unacceptable agenda.

V.Makei held a series of meetings with the OSCE leadership, including the heads of the Organization's Offices.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus met with the OSCE ODIHR Director, Matteo Mecacci, and briefed his interlocutor on the current situation in Belarus. The sides discussed approaches of the stakeholders to solving the migration issue and their compliance with the international law and OSCE commitments. 

The Belarusian Foreign Minister underlined that pressure and double standards were inadmissible when assessing the situation in Belarus and the other OSCE participating States.

During his meeting with the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, the Belarusian Foreign Minister confirmed the openness of the Belarusian side to building a mutually respectful and unbiased dialogue. V.Makei stressed the importance of a balanced response by T.Ribeiro's Office to media violations in different countries.

V.Makei had also a meeting with the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Kairat Abdrakhmanov. The Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry emphasized the traditionally stable and calm situation in Belarus in the context of interethnic relations, and noted the destructiveness of attempts to politicize this topic by some countries.

On the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council, V.Makei had a number of meetings with the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE participating States.

During the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, topical issues of regional security in the OSCE area, as well as bilateral interaction were discussed. The parties reaffirmed their readiness to develop comprehensive cooperation, including mutual support on international forums.

During the meeting with the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Szijjarto, the prospects for development of bilateral cooperation, the situation in the field of migration, and approaches to the urgent issues on the regional and international agenda were discussed.

The meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Pekka Haavisto, was used to present Belarus' stance on problematic issues of cooperation with the EU and to seek mutually acceptable solutions in order to avoid further escalation of tensions and mutual alienation.

In the course of the talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ceyhun Bayramov, the parties emphasized the commitment to further dynamic implementation of projects in all areas of cooperation and continued mutual support at international platforms in the spirit of strategic partnership.

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