The Fifteenth Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council will be held on 29-30 November 2007 in Madrid. Turkey will be represented at the meeting by a delegation headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Babacan.

Meetings of the Ministerial Council are held on those years when an OSCE Summit does not take place. Therefore, the Ministerial Council meetings are of primary importance in guiding the Organization’s work in the upcoming year by adopting the necessary decisions.

The OSCE, whose roots date back to the Cold War era, has served its initial purpose of mitigating and easing tensions between the two blocs, by devising a series of political and military measures. In the present context, the OSCE, in order to meet contemporary security risks and challenges, including combating asymmetric threats, carries out its activities in a wide spectrum defined by the politico-military, economic-environmental and human dimensions. The numerous draft decisions and documents that are expected to be adopted at the Madrid Ministerial reflect the broad-ranging nature of the activities of the Organization. The work of the OSCE, specifically in the fields of combating terrorism, environmental security, the security of energy infrastructures from terrorist attacks, human trafficking and fight against intolerance and discrimination, need to be highlighted in the context of Turkey’s national priorities with respect to peace and stability.

Moreover, the OSCE constitutes the platform for political dialogue in addressing the protracted conflicts in Transdniestria, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh, which are, due to their geographical proximity, of great relevance to our national peace and security.

Turkey a significant actor in its region, is also among the prominent countries in the OSCE as a result of its active participation in and contribution to the work of the Organization.

The issues related to the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) is also expected to come up during the course of the OSCE Madrid Ministerial. Should this be the case, the importance that Turkey attaches to safeguarding the CFE Treaty and its flank regime will be reiterated.