OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu concluded his visit to New York City today, where he attended the high-level week of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The visit was an opportunity to meet with the United Nations Secretary-General, as well as leaders and Foreign Ministers from across the OSCE region.
"We need multilateralism, we need to invest in it and redouble our efforts to relaunch dialogue, trust and cooperative security. The alternative is war and destruction," noted Secretary General Sinirlioğlu.
The Secretary General met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, as well as Foreign Ministers Maka Botchorishvili of Georgia, Marko Djuric of Serbia, Elmedin Konaković of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sirojiddin Muhriddin of Tajikistan, and Bakhtiyor Saidov of Uzbekistan.
He also had meetings with Foreign Ministers Andrii Sybiha of Ukraine and Sergey Lavrov of the Russian Federation, where he reiterated the OSCE's readiness to support efforts to end the war and possible confidence building measures, including the exchange of prisoners.
Secretary General Sinirlioğlu participated in the OSCE Ministerial Troika meeting alongside OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen of Finland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta Ian Borg, and Swiss Foreign Minister Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis.
The Secretary General saw US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and discussed OSCE matters at length with other US officials, including Senior Bureau Official Brendan Hanrahan.
In closing his visit, Secretary General Sinirlioğlu noted: "War is not inevitable, and could have been/could be prevented, as I was reminded this week in meetings with leaders who have chosen diplomacy and peace after years of confrontation. The OSCE remains firmly committed to advance dialogue to ensure peace for all its participating States."
