Foreign Minister Valtonen to OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Skopje

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), held in Skopje, North Macedonia, on 29–30 November. North Macedonia holds the OSCE Chairmanship in 2023.

The Ministerial Council will discuss the far-reaching effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the security situation in Europe and on the OSCE’s activities. Foreign Minister Valtonen will also address the OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference and have bilateral meetings.

“The OSCE Ministerial Council gives the participating States an opportunity to show their continued and unwavering support to Ukraine. Finland condemns Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia's war violates the UN Charter, international law and the OSCE’s common principles. The OSCE has always been an important discussion forum for a group of countries that sometimes have more factors separating them than uniting them. That is why it has such an important role in advancing dialogue and cooperation,” Minister Valtonen says.

The OSCE has 57 participating States, which means that all European and Central Asian countries and the United States and Canada are represented in the cooperation.

The OSCE’s areas of activity are divided into three dimensions: the politico-military dimension, the economic and environmental dimension and the human dimension. These are based on the baskets agreed in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE). Finland will hold the OSCE Chairmanship in 2025.

Public sessions of the Ministerial Council will be available via livestream on the OSCE website(Link to another website.).