United Nations S/PV.5982 Security Council Provisional Sixty-third year 5982nd meeting Friday, 26 September 2008, 10 a.m. New York President: Mr. Yoda ....................................... (Burkina Faso) Members: Belgium ....................................... Mr. Grauls China ......................................... Mr. Li Kexin Costa Rica ...................................... Mr. Urbina Croatia ........................................ Mr. Vilović France ......................................... Ms. Yade Indonesia ...................................... Mr. Natalegawa Italy .......................................... Mr. Terzi di Sant’Agata Libyan Arab Jamahiriya ........................... Mr. Ettalhi Panama ........................................ Mr. Arias Russian Federation ............................... Mr. Churkin South Africa .................................... Mr. Kumalo United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .... Ms. Pierce United States of America ........................... Ms. DiCarlo Viet Nam ....................................... Mr. Le Luong Minh Agenda Briefing by the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Letter dated 4 September 2008 from the Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2008/594) This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room C-154A. 08-52321 (E) *0852321* S/PV.5982 The meeting was called to order at 10.10 a.m. that the United Nations and the OSCE have cooperated during the Finnish chairmanship of the OSCE. Adoption of the agenda First, we want to promote the implementation of The agenda was adopted. all United Nations principles, conventions and other instruments established at the global level. So, in may Briefing by the Chairman-in-Office of the ways one could perhaps argue that the OSCE is in the Organization for Security and Cooperation business of trying to help support all of those in Europe principles that have been underlined here in the United Nations. Letter dated 4 September 2008 from the Permanent Representative of Finland to the The second way in which I see us cooperating is United Nations addressed to the President of the that the OSCE early warning, crisis management and Security Council (S/2008/594) post-conflict activities are crucial components of the United Nations-based international order. So, in many The President (spoke in French): In accordance ways you could say that the United Nations and the with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior OSCE are both in the business of preventing and consultations, I shall take it that the Security Council resolving conflicts. Thus, we live in a kind of agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its symbiosis, and if one was to simplify, and I say that as provisional rules of procedure to His Excellency a European — the United Nations has a global reach Mr. Alexander Stubb, Chairman-in-Office of the with its 192 Members, while the European Union has a Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe very regional reach with its 27 members — the OSCE and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland. fits quite comfortably between those two organizations There being no objection, it is so decided. with its 56 members, stretching from Vancouver to Vladivostok. On behalf of the Council, I extend a warm welcome to His Excellency Mr. Alexander Stubb and Today, I shall deal with three challenges that I invite him to take a seat at the Council table. believe the OSCE and the United Nations share, and those three challenges are, of course, regional. The first The Security Council will now begin its is Georgia, the second Kosovo and the third consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is Afghanistan. Having dealt with those three issues meeting in response to a letter dated 4 September 2008 briefly, I will draw on two lessons that I think we can from the Permanent Representative of Finland to the learn from the recent crisis. So, I will start off with United Nations, addressed to the President of the Georgia. Security Council and contained in document S/2008/594. In my capacity as the Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, I At this meeting the Security Council will hear a would never have thought that the chairmanship would briefing by His Excellency Mr. Alexander Stubb, have become as exciting at the end of the day as it has. Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security Of course, that had to do with the events that took and Cooperation in Europe and Minister for Foreign place at the beginning of August in Georgia. Affairs of Finland. I now give him the floor. What was our aim as Chair? In many ways it was Mr. Stubb: I am very glad to be here today. I to do three things: first of all, to broker a ceasefire, and shall be speaking in my capacity as Chairman of the I think we succeeded in that fairly fast, within five Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe days. Here, I would like to pay tribute to the work done (OSCE), and if I may, I will deal with three main by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and points today. French President Nicolas Sarkozy in their capacities as To begin with, if I were to give a thesis for my Chairmen of the European Union. I would also like to briefing today it would be that, to put it very simply, pay tribute to all those parties engaged in trying to the United Nations and the OSCE are partners in broker that ceasefire, including President Medvedev, destiny. I would like to highlight two ways in which Prime Minister Putin, Foreign Minister Lavrov and 2 08-52321 S/PV.5982 President Saakashvili. It was a joint effort, we did it in Now, where do I see the United Nations as having five days and that was the key aim. a role in the package of stabilizing Georgia? I think the role of the United Nations is in long-term stability, and The second aim of the OSCE has been to I am convinced that the Security Council should have a supervise the withdrawal of the troops. Here, I think key role, as in all questions concerning international we are, so as to say, getting there with what I would peace and stability. What I have proposed is the call the Sarkozy II plan, with an aim of having the formation of an international platform made up of three troops withdrawn by 10 October. key organizations — the United Nations, the EU and The third aim has been to give an international the OSCE — as well as the stakeholders in the conflict. presence to the conflict and the crisis, and I think the That platform should be convened as soon as possible. OSCE had an instrumental role in that, because we I believe a good starting point is 15 October, when an were the only organization that had the infrastructure international conference is scheduled to be held in to put military monitors on the ground and, after Geneva. I am also looking forward to cooperating with negotiations, we were able to get 20 monitors in to the future Chairs of the OSCE — Greece, Kazakhstan areas adjacent to South Ossetia. I think the role has and Lithuania — as well as other OSCE partners. been crucial in monitoring the ceasefire and we have That concludes what I wanted to say on the crisis done that from the beginning. There are two in Georgia. I think we are moving in the right negotiations that are still ongoing on that particular direction, but all of us need to continue in international subject of the military monitors. One is on an engagement. additional 80, who would be sent to areas adjacent to South Ossetia. I am cautiously hopeful that with the The second issue I wanted to raise is Kosovo, constructive participation of all members of the OSCE, which I shall do very briefly. All the OSCE- we can get them in. participating States have supported continued OSCE engagement in Kosovo. We have good cooperation The other one is about the eight military monitors between the United Nations and the OSCE in the area. who had an OSCE mandate in Tskhinvali in South Under resolution 1244 (1999), the OSCE is an essential Ossetia. There, things have not gone as planned, but let pillar of United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). me stress that I think that we will be able to start We have our largest operation there, with 800 mission within the next few days if the security of the monitors members on the ground throughout all of Kosovo’s can be guaranteed on missions going from Georgia to municipalities, and I think that helps build strong local Tskhinvali. I would really like to pay tribute to the institutions. We will continue those efforts and hope efforts of my colleague, Sergey Lavrov, in trying to that the transition from UNMIK to the European Union help the eight monitors enter the region, so we can get Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) will be less what one could call objective information. So, I am painful than it has been so far. cautiously hopeful on both of those accounts, on the 80 and on the eight for South Ossetia. The final substantive issue I wanted to deal with is Afghanistan. I will do that very briefly as well. The I have made two visits to Georgia, to Tbilisi, importance of effective international action holds true together with Foreign Minister Kouchner, first just in several parts of the OSCE area, especially when the war began.