OSCE to be invited to observe Ukraine elections, Foreign Minister says

VIENNA, 26 April 2007 - The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights will be invited to observe Ukraine's upcoming elections, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told the Organization today.

Taking note of yesterday's Presidential decree that postpones the planned pre-term elections, the Minister said that the OSCE's 56 participating States would be invited to observe as soon as the Central Election Commission had made the needed decisions.

"We strongly believe that in the case of pre-term elections, they have to be transparent, they have to be legal and they have to be democratic," the Minister said in a speech to the Permanent Council, the OSCE's main decision-making body.

He added that Ukraine was currently facing "temporary political turbulence" and noted that 15 years after independence, the country remained a transitional democracy.

"We still believe that Ukraine needs political maturity," he said. "Today, we do not have a conflict between the President and the Prime Minister. We have to define the sources of this conflict and the main sources are in the political elite and in the political forces within the Ukraine."

He praised the activities of Ukraine's legal bodies in contributing to resolving the situation, but added that a lasting solution "has to be a mixture of political and legal" measures.

Minister Yatsenyuk also discussed the Transdniestria problem, and urged all sides to return to the negotiations under the 5+2 format. He also welcomed the attention the Spanish OSCE Chairmanship has devoted to the issue.

"Ukraine stands for the peaceful settlement of all frozen conflicts on the basis of the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders," he said.

On energy security, Minister Yatsenyuk noted that Ukraine and all other OSCE participating States are facing an energy problem.

"Being undervalued in the past, it deserves our most active and consistent attention today," he said. "No clear energy rules exist in the world. We strongly believe that the energy challenges have to shift to a certain energy independence of states and individuals. It has to be not a challenge - it has to be a safeguard for every country, every individual."