Lithuania outlines OSCE priorities

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Foreign Minister and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Chairman Audronius Azubalis has outlined the country's priorities for its leadership of the organization, which it took over at the start of the year.

"The settlement of prolonged conflicts, fight against transnational threats, freedom of the media and journalists’ safety, promotion of tolerance through education and aim to include energy security on the OSCE permanent agenda are among the priorities of Lithuania’s Chairmanship," the foreign ministry said in a press release.

The announcement came at a press conference following a highly-awaited meeting between Azubalis and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, at which the two hammered out a list of priorities for their year-long tenureship.

One of the main first issues for Lithuania to deal with as the head of the organization is the decision by Belarus to close its OSCE offices and its use of force during a recent election.

“Isolation of Belarus has not produced the desired results. Actions taken by the Belarusian government against ordinary people and journalists who took part in the protest, as well as arrests and the use of physical force hamper cooperation with the official Belarus but not with the Belarusian people," Grybauskaite said.

Azubalis also presented the main team members of the Chairmanship: Director of the OSCE Chairmanship Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Rytis Paulauskas, OSCE Special Representative for Protracted Conflicts Giedrius Cekuolis and Ambassador for the OSCE Human Dimension Alfonsas Eidintas.