Skopje, 17 January 2023 (MIA) – North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bujar Osmani, met Tuesday in Poland with the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau, who was the OSCE former Chairman-in-Office in 2022.

At the meeting, as stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Osmani once again reaffirmed the commitment and efforts of the Poland’s OSCE Chairmanship in 2022, in extremely difficult conditions in the OSCE region, and also expressed gratitude for the Poland’s support for the country’s OSCE Chairmanship.

“As part of the OSCE Troika of chairs, I expect close cooperation to continue in order to jointly address the OSCE’s challenges and to function efficiently and OSCE to be present on the ground offering the people help in providing a stable and safe environment in which they live,” Osmani said.

Conveying the impressions of the visit to Ukraine, especially the threatened areas, the ministers jointly continue to condemn Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, stressing that it represents ongoing violation of international law and the principles and obligations of the OSCE.

“No matter how discouraging the latest developments on the ground are, we should continue to work hard to stop the aggression and the withdrawal of Russian military forces from Ukraine and to provide space for a diplomatic solution that will ensure a stable and long-term peace,” Osmani noted.

He also reminded that the OSCE can offer resources and mechanisms for finding a way out of the situation, as well as help in mitigating the consequences of the war, stressing that all parties should fully exploit the OSCE’s potential, read the press release.

“North Macedonia will remain to safeguard the principles and commitments of the OSCE, and only by respecting them, the resolution of the war can be continued as soon as possible, in order to reduce people’s suffering. Guided by our motto “It’s about people”, our focus will be to help people, not only in Ukraine, which is of utmost importance, but also in other conflict-affected areas,” Osmani said.

According to the OSCE rules, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, as the OSCE former Chairman-in-Office, will chair the OSCE Asian Partners for Cooperation Group in 2023 and is also part of the OSCE Troika.