Turkey’s Chairmanship of Forum for Security Co-operation: Interview with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal

How does Turkey see the security situation in the OSCE region?

The world is going through a comprehensive transformation. We witness considerable political and economic fault lines and a shift regarding the balance of power. Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security are influenced immensely by this transformation. Emerging crises, new threat perceptions, unresolved conflicts, and violations of international law also characterize the OSCE region. 

Combating various threats, such as terrorism, organized crime, disruption to the flow of vital resources, uncontrolled mass movement of people because of armed conflicts and cyber war risks have turned into challenges that require joint efforts to provide international security in the 21st century. Synergy between organisations have become more vital for addressing transnational threats.

Safeguarding territorial integrity; contributing to collective defence and crisis management operations; preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and supporting disarmament are among objectives/aims/pursuits that need to be considered carefully.

The crisis in and around Ukraine has been the most important issue on the OSCE’s agenda since early 2014. The crisis has posed the gravest challenge to European security and stability in recent history. We remain convinced that full adherence by all to the Minsk Agreements, in their entirety and in good faith, is the only way to ensure a peaceful and lasting settlement.

Turkey seeks to find peaceful resolutions to the conflicts by using dialogue and co-operation and in accordance with international law. We aim to contain the conflicts in a short time through international co-operation and crisis management.

Because of its geographical location, we see our country as a regional security actor in Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions and beyond. In the last couple of years, Turkey has also demonstrated its capacity to act as a global actor.

National and collective security are intertwined. The current security environment attests to the fact that security is truly indivisible.

Some risks and threats are not necessarily of military nature. In this challenging security environment, the OSCE’s comprehensive and co-operative approach to security has gained a renewed importance. Principles and commitments enshrined in our acquis need to be upheld. Implementation is of key importance. We also need to reinforce our toolbox.

Effective multilateralism should be a guiding principle of the OSCE’s work, in particular of the FSC. Turkey values this organization and is actively engaged in all three dimensions of the OSCE, namely the politico-military, economic-environmental and human dimension.

As the FSC is the core body in the politico-military dimension, it occupies a distinct place within the OSCE architecture. The FSC has developed a wide range of confidence -and security-building measures (CSBMs) and continues to contribute to the stability and security in the OSCE region through transparency and predictability.

The FSC’s acquis, which are rooted in our shared norms and values, in particular in the politico-military dialogue, provides a solid ground to build a stronger vision for the future.

To this end, we have to continue to stress the value of the FSC’s work for the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security. We need to seek ways to give further impetus to the Forum and enhance its effectiveness wherever and whenever needed, through ownership and common responsibility. Any achievement of the FSC positively contributes to the overall success of the OSCE in its pursuit of comprehensive and indivisible security.

The OSCE has played a very important role in containing the crisis in and around Ukraine to the extent possible, particularly through the Special Monitoring Mission and the Trilateral Contact Group. The OSCE’s successful engagement in Ukraine has underlined the value of its unique concept of comprehensive security and of its flexibility and adaptability. Under the able leaderships of Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan and his successor Ambassador Yaşar Halit Çevik, the SMM has been able to secure the respect, trust and confidence of all relevant actors despite the extremely volatile situation on the ground.

OSCE field operations are invaluable footprints of our Organization in the participating States, and among other roles and responsibilities, they contribute to early warning and conflict prevention.

Many of the OSCE’s field operations are located in the regions with which we share strong historical, political, economic and cultural ties, particularly in Central Asia and the Balkans. We are pleased to note that the people and the Governments of the region perceive the OSCE, with its intense outreach to local populations through these field offices, as a trusted and impartial international partner. For our part, we will continue to support these missions and promote efforts towards the consolidation of stability, peace and prosperity in these regions.

As the primary Organization of peaceful settling of disputes within its region, we welcome the OSCE’s efforts within the existing formats searching for a peaceful solution to the conflicts in Georgia, Transnistria and the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Nevertheless, we expect more efforts in order to achieve meaningful progress. The longer the protracted conflicts remain unresolved, the more negative effects they have on trust and confidence in the Organization.

We value the OSCE Minsk Group process as the appropriate platform to find a sustainable solution to the conflict and believe that there is a need for bringing a new impetus to the process. Turkey, as a member of the group, attaches importance to the fullest possible use of the Minsk Group as an instrument to support the settlement efforts.

Mediation plays an important role in preventing, managing and resolving conflicts. We encourage increasing the use of mediation and dialogue facilitation in order to enable an effective crisis response across the conflict cycle. Since 2014, Turkey, Finland and Switzerland have co-chaired the OSCE Group of Friends of Mediation with the aim of contributing to the discussions within the OSCE in this field in a transparent and inclusive manner.

Can you tell us more about Turkey’s FSC Chairmanship priorities?

Turkey attaches great importance to strengthening the FSC and using this unique platform effectively. We aim to bring a new momentum to the FSC through our unique experience on security matters.

First and foremost, we underscore our strong attachment to the principles and commitments in the FSC acquis.

We will encourage all participating States to reflect more on how we can enhance the FSC’s role in countering the current security challenges and its ability to adapt to new security risks and threats, as well as how to increase the effectiveness of existing tools and mechanisms.

In this context, we deem it necessary to take stock of the Forum’s work over the last decades, as well as to learn more about the FSC’s current activities and projects.     

Our programme has a balanced agenda between established and new topics. We attach importance to continuity and complementarity with the preceding Chairmanships’ programmes. In this regard, we will have on our agenda topics such as small arms and light weapons and  stockpiles of conventional ammunition, and strengthening implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1540 on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. At the same time, we would like to draw the Forum’s attention to the primary security concerns of Turkey due to its unique geography, such as terrorism and irregular migration.

Turkey will aim to strengthen the pillars of our security architecture through the work of the FSC. We should keep underlining the importance of full implementation of the commitments and principles of the participating States of our Organization.

We should not let our existing formats and tools, which are in place to reinforce these political and legal commitments, be undermined.