OSCE Chairman calls for continuation of Mission in Kosovo

VIENNA, 10 January 2007 - The OSCE should remain active in Kosovo, the new OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, said Thursday while addressing the Organization's Permanent Council in Vienna.

"I have no doubt that the OSCE should remain active in Kosovo. It is the people of Kosovo, be they Albanians or Serbs, and the developing institutions that still need our help. Therefore the Organization should continue its essential work on the ground for their benefit," he said.

Minister Kanerva named Kosovo one of the main challenges that will shape the work of the OSCE this year.

"The international community has invested much resources and energy in the search of an agreed solution. I call upon the leadership of both Serbia and Kosovo to consider their responsibilities with due care. Let us all look to building a stable and peaceful future," he said.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is the Organization's largest field operation. The mandate of the Mission was in late December 2007 prolonged until 31 January 2008 by the Permanent Council. Then, the mandate will be automatically extended unless a participating State objects in writing.

A press release on the other aspects of Chairman Kanerva's speech is to be found on the main web page of the OSCE, www.osce.org

The Permanent Council, the main regular decision-making body of the Organization, convenes weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make decisions.