The Finnish Foreign Minister, Ilkka Kanerva, took the position as chairman of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Tuesday.
Finland will retain the chairmanship for one year, replacing the Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Kanerva said there are many unresolved issues in the OSCE, such as the topic of Kosovo and the disputes over the Conventional Armed Forces treaty in Europe.
“Finland’s chairmanship will focus, above all, on intensifying the organization’s operation and on the observance of existing commitments,” Kanerva said.
Kanerva is scheduled to make a speech in Vienna on January 10th, outlining his priorities to the OSCE’s principal decision-making body, the Permanent Council. According to a statement by the Finnish government, Kanerva will then travel to Ukraine and Moldova to observe OSCE field operations.
The 56 member states of the OSCE include European countries, Central Asian nations, the US, Canada and countries of South Caucasus.