OSCE Secretary General, in Iceland, meets country’s Foreign Minister, addresses conference on ‘recapturing the spirit’ of 1986 Reykjavik Summit

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier visited Iceland 10-11 October 2016, where he met the country’s foreign minister and addressed a conference marking thirty years since the landmark 1986 Reykjavik Summit on the reduction of nuclear-armed missiles.

The Secretary General and Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Lilja Alfredsdottir exchanged views on current issues and challenges on the OSCE agenda as well as Iceland’s significant contribution to a number of OSCE activities and policies.

Zannier also met the Icelandic Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Iceland.

Earlier, the Secretary General had attended a conference organized by the International Peace Institute and Iceland’s Foreign Ministry to mark thirty years since the 1986 Reykjavik Summit, where the President of the United States of America Ronald Reagan and leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev met to discuss the reduction of nuclear-armed missiles and a move towards a nuclear free world.

“Looking back at what was possible here in Reykjavik in a period of all-out ideological confrontation, we should feel inspired not to relinquish our efforts to give dialogue and diplomacy a chance,” said Zannier, speaking at a session on how to ‘recapture the spirit’ of Reykjavik.

“Dialogue stands at the beginning of any process that can over time lead to renewed trust and confidence. This requires sustained efforts, patience and perseverance. It also requires far-sighted leadership and good timing. We have the tools and experience at our disposal; we just need to apply them. This should give us some confidence that we will ultimately succeed,” he said.

The conference was opened with video messages from Gorbachev and George P. Shultz, U.S. Secretary of State in the Reagan administration 1982-1989, and was attended by leading academics and experts in this field.