Updated 1.40pm
Russia’s war in Ukraine will be one of Malta’s “overarching priorities” as it takes on the chair of the world’s largest regional security body in Vienna on Thursday morning and launches its priorities for the OSCE presidency.
As Foreign Minister Ian Borg prepares to preside over the permanent council meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), sources close to government and the OSCE said the situation in Ukraine and its impact on the rest of Europe is expected to top the agenda, amid heightened tensions in the region.
Borg is only weeks into his chairmanship, after Malta was unexpectedly chosen to lead the organisation instead of Estonia, as Russia vetoed the idea of an Estonian presidency.
“The overarching priorities will be mainly the safeguarding of the organisation and addressing conflicts in the region, particularly Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” senior sources told Times of Malta in Vienna.
As Borg prepares to bring together politicians, diplomats, and policymakers from 57 states across Europe, North America, and Asia, he faces tough, unprecedented challenges to create meaningful dialogue between all sides in a way that leads to more peace and security in the region.
Malta was the only country all OSCE member states could agree on to preside over the organisation. This is even though Malta has taken a clear stand in favour of Ukraine in the war and Borg, has, as OSCE chair, reiterated that that Russia must withdraw immediately from the entire territory of Ukraine.
He also made it clear that Malta remains committed to providing Ukraine with aid and support programmes.
Ukraine, meanwhile, wants the OSCE to expel Russia, as the Council of Europe has done, warning the body faced a “slow death” if Moscow remains a member.
Critics of that reasoning, however, argue that allowing Russia to remain a participating member of the body is one of the best and only shots at bringing it to the discussion table in a bid to find diplomatic solutions.
The OSCE was founded in the 1970s to ease tensions between the East and the West during the Cold War.
It was a remarkably successful effort at the time to bring together the world’s powers in a bid to avoid further conflict, and to this day it remains one of the only remaining political communication platforms between the West and Russia and its allies.
The body brings together states to discuss and take action on conflict prevention and arms control and to foster economic development in the region, ensure sustainable use of natural resources, promote human rights, fundamental freedoms, freedom of the press and free and fair elections.
Moscow, however, has been increasingly accusing the bloc of turning away from its founding principles.
This complicates things further for Borg, as the OSCE is a consensus-driven body – meaning its major and most crucial decisions are taken unanimously by all the participating states. Russia, or any one state, can block any major decision by refusing to support it.
‘I will do whatever it takes to keep OSCE alive and functional’
Fielding reporters’ questions at a press conference following the permanent council meeting, Borg said he intends to primarily listen to the Ukrainian authorities to better understand their challenges and needs when he is in Kyiv, and find useful ways to support them through the OSCE’s several multi-million euro projects.
“In Kyiv, the most important thing is to listen. I don’t want to send out the message that I know it all, or that I know what they need,” he said.
“I will visit Kyiv and will do whatever it takes to keep the organisation alive and functional.”
Asked whether he excludes also visiting Russia during his tenure, he was non-committal.
OSCE diplomats were already collaborating “daily and weekly” on a technical level with all member states, including with Russia, he said.
He also did not say whether Russia had yet reacted to his address and whether the OSCE would explore ways to expel it in case it failed to cooperate and continued to create deadlocks.