On 13 and 14 May, Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General Jonatan
Vseviov visited Vienna, Austria, where he held meetings with several ambassadors to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including Ukrainian Ambassador Yurii Vitrenko and the Permanent Representative of the current and incoming OSCE chairmanships. In addition, a bilateral meeting was held with Nikolaus Marschik, Secretary-General of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All meetings discussed the security situation in Europe in the context of the ongoing Russian war of aggression.
“Russia is violating all the principles agreed upon in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act by conducting its aggression against Ukraine, destroying the nature of cooperation within the framework of the FSC,” Secretary General Vseviov emphasised at the opening session of the Estonian Chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC). “Despite Russia’s behaviour, the sovereignty of states and the inviolability of borders, as well as refraining from threats of force and from the use of force, and territorial integrity have remained the moral backbone of the OSCE, guiding joint efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
Secretary General Vseviov pointed out that the OSCE was facing existential issues that would determine the security of Europe for the next decades: “Is it acceptable to change national borders by force of arms, do we allow for aggression to “pay off” and are relations between states governed by commonly agreed law or by brute force?”
Within the framework of the Estonian Chairmanship of the FSC, weekly plenary meetings and three security dialogues take place. The security dialogues, which involve experts from Estonia, Ukraine and other countries, will discuss democratic control over the armed and security forces, based on the OSCE’s relevant military-political code of conduct; the role of women in strengthening national defence and resilience, and the protection of children in armed conflicts.
Estonia will chair the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation dealing with the military-political dimension from the end of April to the beginning of September 2025. Before Estonia, the chairmanship of the FSC was held by Spain, and after Estonia, Finland will take over the chairmanship.
During his visit, Secretary General Vseviov also met with Nikolaus Marschik, Secretary-General of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussing bilateral relations, increasing Europe’s defence spending and strengthening its security architecture, and Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Read the OSCE press release here.
Additional information
Communication Department
[email protected]
www.vm.ee | @MFAestonia