President Pia Kauma addressing the Winter Meeting, Vienna, 22 February 2024VIENNA, 22 February 2024 – Two years after the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion, the ongoing war has not only devastated Ukraine but has severely undermined the European security architecture, participants said today at the opening of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 23rd Winter Meeting in Vienna. Efforts to hold Moscow accountable and reinforce the principles of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act must continue, it was underlined, despite Russian attempts to undermine the OSCE.

With more than 230 parliamentarians from 54 OSCE countries in attendance, OSCE PA President Pia Kauma (Finland) opened the meeting with a speech noting that the decision of the Russian parliament not to attend the Winter Meeting should be viewed in the context of the PA’s collective efforts to hold the Russian Federation to account.

Stressing that the OSCE PA should not be misused as a platform to promote a war of aggression, Kauma underlined the importance of ensuring that the Assembly maintains its independence and relevance. “We will remain a forum for frank and honest dialogue, rooted in our shared values and commitments,” President Kauma said. “Our doors will always remain open to those committed to these basic principles.”

The President of the Austrian National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, also addressed the opening session, highlighting the war against Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and artificial intelligence’s impacts on security as some of the main challenges facing the international community today. He expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people and underlined that the OSCE must remain resolute in defence of common security, noting the importance of stepping up multilateral efforts in this regard.

OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella, OSCE CiO Ian Borg and President of the Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka, Vienna, 22 February 2024 In his address, Chair-in-Office of the OSCE and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta Ian Borg expressed gratitude for the opportunity to address the Assembly. “In just two days,” he noted, “we will mark two years since the start of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. Two years of senseless human suffering inflicted on innocent civilians, with a toll that unacceptably continues to rise. My recent visit to Ukraine reinforced my conviction of the imperative need to bring this war to an end. We will not tire in calling on the Russian Federation to immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from the sovereign territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”

Also addressing the opening joint session was OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid, who underlined the importance of a strong OSCE to meet current challenges.

The Winter Meeting consists of meetings of each of the OSCE PA’s general committees, its three ad hoc committees, the Standing Committee of heads of national delegations, two joint sessions of the general committees, and a number of side events. Today, the general committees are meeting to hear from independent experts and representatives of the OSCE’s governmental side and discuss presentations from committee rapporteurs on their ideas and intentions regarding reports being prepared for the 31st Annual Session in Bucharest this summer.

OSCE parliamentarians will hold special debates on various themes in the OSCE’s three dimensions of security. The Committee on Political Affairs and Security’s special debate, being held under the theme “OSCE work in Ukraine during Russia’s War of Aggression,” was introduced by Ambassador Marcel Peško, Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office – Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. The Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment will hold a debate on “Artificial Intelligence: A Technological Breakthrough with Security Implications,” with keynote addresses by representatives of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Microsoft, and Thinkers.ai. The Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions will debate “Political Dissidents and Political Prisoners,” with introductory remarks by exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

The meeting is streaming live at www.oscepa.org. Photos are available for public use at the OSCE PA’s Flickr page.

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