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Moscow Times, Russia
Dec 5 2010
OSCE Fails to Gain Powers as Old Conflicts Smolder
05 December 2010
Reuters
ASTANA, Kazakhstan - Unresolved conflicts across the former Soviet
Union thwarted attempts by Europe's main security watchdog to adopt
new powers Friday, sending world leaders home empty-handed from the
first OSCE summit in more than a decade.
The 56-member state Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe could not agree on a new "action plan" to tackle conflicts
after two days of talks that dragged into the early hours of Friday in
Kazakhstan's windswept capital.
Instead, they signed the Astana Commemorative Declaration, which
renewed their previous commitment to principles of a free and
democratic security community from Vancouver to Vladivostok.
Thirty-eight heads of state traveled to Kazakhstan, the first former
Soviet country to chair the OSCE. Many had already left by the time
marathon talks wrapped up, leaving delegates to deliver some stinging
messages about a lack of progress.
The United States said the adoption of a more meaningful declaration
had snagged on old conflicts including Moldova's rebel Transdnestr
region, Georgia's breakaway regions and the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"We could not accept an action plan at the first OSCE summit in 11
years that failed to adequately address the most serious and enduring
threats to our security," a U.S. delegation representative said in
closing remarks.
Failure to empower the OSCE underlined doubts among many that the
uneasy mix grouping Western democracies with former Soviet republics
has the teeth or the will to prevent conflicts and ensure adherence to
even basic human rights.
"If we're going to have a text, let's have a text with real substance
in it, which doesn't simply try and brush every awkward issue under
the carpet," British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said.
The Czech delegation, summing up its position, said in a statement:
"The action plan should have defined a practical way to continue to
restore trust and confidence among OSCE participating states.
"This opportunity was lost. So was the relevance of the OSCE."
Sharp Rhetoric
A Russian delegation representative said "compromise became impossible
due to the dogmatized approach by some participants to the negotiating
process." He did not elaborate.
Russia came under pressure during the summit from both Georgia and
Moldova for not withdrawing its troops from both countries' pro-Moscow
rebel regions - a commitment made by the Kremlin during the last OSCE
summit in Istanbul in 1999.
And far from its stated aim of narrowing the gap between Azerbaijan
and Armenia on the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the summit
drew sharp rhetoric from both sides after the worst year of skirmishes
since a 1994 cease-fire.
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan threatened to recognize the
Armenian-backed mountain enclave as independent if Azerbaijan acted on
its threat to use force to take the territory back.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has used the summit to
promote his oil-rich nation and its futuristic capital, saved face
with the signing of the Astana declaration and told reporters that the
"historic" summit was a success.
"It demolished the decrepit wall between Europe and Asia and enriched
the Helsinki spirit with the Astana spirit," he said.
The OSCE held its first summit in the Finnish capital during the Cold
War in 1975.
Nazarbayev, a 70-year-old former steelworker who has run Kazakhstan
for more than two decades, had earlier given the floor to Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in an attempt to garner support for a
declaration.
"By holding this OSCE summit, Kazakhstan is today becoming a hero in
the world arena, acquiring a widely deserved authority and prestige,"
Berlusconi said.
From: A. Papazian
Dec 5 2010
OSCE Fails to Gain Powers as Old Conflicts Smolder
05 December 2010
Reuters
ASTANA, Kazakhstan - Unresolved conflicts across the former Soviet
Union thwarted attempts by Europe's main security watchdog to adopt
new powers Friday, sending world leaders home empty-handed from the
first OSCE summit in more than a decade.
The 56-member state Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe could not agree on a new "action plan" to tackle conflicts
after two days of talks that dragged into the early hours of Friday in
Kazakhstan's windswept capital.
Instead, they signed the Astana Commemorative Declaration, which
renewed their previous commitment to principles of a free and
democratic security community from Vancouver to Vladivostok.
Thirty-eight heads of state traveled to Kazakhstan, the first former
Soviet country to chair the OSCE. Many had already left by the time
marathon talks wrapped up, leaving delegates to deliver some stinging
messages about a lack of progress.
The United States said the adoption of a more meaningful declaration
had snagged on old conflicts including Moldova's rebel Transdnestr
region, Georgia's breakaway regions and the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"We could not accept an action plan at the first OSCE summit in 11
years that failed to adequately address the most serious and enduring
threats to our security," a U.S. delegation representative said in
closing remarks.
Failure to empower the OSCE underlined doubts among many that the
uneasy mix grouping Western democracies with former Soviet republics
has the teeth or the will to prevent conflicts and ensure adherence to
even basic human rights.
"If we're going to have a text, let's have a text with real substance
in it, which doesn't simply try and brush every awkward issue under
the carpet," British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said.
The Czech delegation, summing up its position, said in a statement:
"The action plan should have defined a practical way to continue to
restore trust and confidence among OSCE participating states.
"This opportunity was lost. So was the relevance of the OSCE."
Sharp Rhetoric
A Russian delegation representative said "compromise became impossible
due to the dogmatized approach by some participants to the negotiating
process." He did not elaborate.
Russia came under pressure during the summit from both Georgia and
Moldova for not withdrawing its troops from both countries' pro-Moscow
rebel regions - a commitment made by the Kremlin during the last OSCE
summit in Istanbul in 1999.
And far from its stated aim of narrowing the gap between Azerbaijan
and Armenia on the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the summit
drew sharp rhetoric from both sides after the worst year of skirmishes
since a 1994 cease-fire.
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan threatened to recognize the
Armenian-backed mountain enclave as independent if Azerbaijan acted on
its threat to use force to take the territory back.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has used the summit to
promote his oil-rich nation and its futuristic capital, saved face
with the signing of the Astana declaration and told reporters that the
"historic" summit was a success.
"It demolished the decrepit wall between Europe and Asia and enriched
the Helsinki spirit with the Astana spirit," he said.
The OSCE held its first summit in the Finnish capital during the Cold
War in 1975.
Nazarbayev, a 70-year-old former steelworker who has run Kazakhstan
for more than two decades, had earlier given the floor to Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in an attempt to garner support for a
declaration.
"By holding this OSCE summit, Kazakhstan is today becoming a hero in
the world arena, acquiring a widely deserved authority and prestige,"
Berlusconi said.
From: A. Papazian