Making the OSCE a model for conflict resolution

The past year has shown that there is still much for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to do – it is needed to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, to contribute to early warning, prevention and the solution of conflicts, to manage crises and control arms. This fact was underscored by Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Madrid. The OSCE can, he said, become a model for the solution of conflicts in other parts of the world.

The OSCE Foreign Ministers took the opportunity to discuss some of the most pressing political issues on the international stage. The EU and USA called on Russia not to suspend the CFE Treaty, which limits the number of conventional armed forces in Europe. Steinmeier warned against scuppering this Treaty: "Let us make the CFE Treaty the issue with which we prove that OSCE is alive and kicking!"

Preserving the CFE Treaty

The Minister asserted that the OSCE's unique and mature network of conventional arms control mechanisms must be maintained and expanded. Our shared goal must still be to preserve the CFE regime as an anchor of stability.

The entire CFE regime is currently under threat, because Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will unilaterally suspend the CFE Treaty on 12 December 2007 unless a number of Russian demands are met.

The CFE Treaty was signed by the members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact in 1990 and has been in force since 1992. It introduced limits for five categories of conventional weapons and established a comprehensive notification, information and verification system.

To amend this treaty to post-Cold War realities, an Adaptation Agreement was negotiated and signed in Istanbul in 1999. But before it can be ratified, Russia must – in the opinion of the NATO members – fulfil various outstanding obligations. These include in particular the removal of stockpiles and withdrawal of armed forces from Moldova.

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