OSCE ministers meet for security talks in Athens

Foreign policy chiefs from 56 countries hope to agree on a rare political declaration on common security structure at a two-day meeting that opened in Athens on Tuesday.

If an agreement can be reached, it would be the first time since 2002 that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has settled on a common political declaration. "Security in our region remains a work in progress. The global crisis has affected all our countries," said Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is also the country's foreign minister. "The new dialogue on European security can be meaningful only insofar as it is tied to concrete progress on key security challenges," he said.

Greece holds the rotating OSCE chairmanship until January. OSCE countries have a wide range of security problems to contend with, including the situation in Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea and Iran, and the aftermath of Russia's war with Georgia last year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to expand on proposals by President Dmitry Medvedev for a new European security structure. The blueprint has met with a wary reception from many western OSCE members.

Russia also urged the United States and NATO to keep it better informed about their plans for the war in Afghanistan. George A. Kroll, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, said the OSCE "is a very good venue for the continuation of the discussions and cooperation the United States and Russia are doing across a wide agenda of issues."

Papandreou asked those attending to take Turkey and Armenia as an example for the OSCE. The two countries ended a century of hostility this year by agreeing to establish diplomatic relations. Ankara fiercely opposes claims that the mass killing of Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I amounted to genocide. "The bold decision taken by Turkey and Armenia have not been easy but they have been important. We must now take this same spirit of reconciliation to the unresolved conflicts that persist in the OSCE area," Papandreou said.

Speaking on Monday, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras said organizers hoped "that by Wednesday afternoon we will be able to announce real progress on every issue." Several foreign ministers also planned to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the conference.