On January 1, 2019, Slovakia assumed the year-long presidency in the OSCE, which incorporates 57 member countries from Europe, North America and Central Asia. Interfax news agency reported that on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak will be the chairman of the organization over the next 12 months. He previously stated that over this period, 'Ukraine would be the main priority' and promised he would visit Ukraine during his first foreign visit in this office.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin tweeted that he would be glad to welcome Lajcak already in two weeks; 'we'll go to Donbas together', the diplomat wrote.
Earlier, he said Slovakia would focus on the issues related to the illegal annexation of Crimea and the aggression in Donbas during its presidency at the OSCE. He explained the decision by the fact that the recent actions of the Russian Federation near the Kerch Strait escalated the problem and increased “the risk of the destabilization in the region”.
“The input into the crisis in Ukraine and around it, which includes the illegal annexation of Crimea, undermines the principles of the OSCE, and it will be the focus of our presidency at the organization,” Lajcak emphasized, not mentioning Russia directly, but hinting at it.
