President Efthymiou addresses the Lithuanian Seimas.In Vilnius on 18 and 19 October, OSCE PA President Petros Efthymiou held high-level talks regarding the 2011 Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship, before continuing to Moscow this week to for an official visit focusing on upcoming work of the OSCE.

Mr. Efthymiou, accompanied by Secretary General Spencer Oliver, met with the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite; Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis; and Speaker of the Seimas Irena Degutiene; and the OSCE PA Delegation Headed by Vilja Aleknaite-Abramikiene, among other senior officials.

Discussions focused primarily on Lithuania’s preparations to take over the OSCE Chairmanship in 2011. President Efthymiou emphasized the importance of raising the level of political dialogue in the OSCE, including through high-level participation in the upcoming Astana Summit. In this regard, he encouraged consideration of OSCE PA input including the recent report produced by the Ad Hoc Committee on Transparency and Accountability. The President also encouraged the appointment of people with a high-level political profile to senior positions in the OSCE.

On Tuesday, the President addressed a special session of the Seimas of Lithuania, dedicated to commemorating the 35th Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act.

In Moscow on 20 October, the delegation met with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as well as with the Speaker of the Duma, Borys Gryzlov. They discussed preparations for the Astana Summit and OSCE election observation activities. The President welcomed the active engagement in the Assembly by Russian Members of Parliament.

Presidential Advisor Andreas Baker and Chara Papazoudi from the Greek Parliament accompanied the delegation.