Turkish FM to attend ministerial council meeting of OSCE in Lithuania

ANKARA (A.A) - December 5, 2011 - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will participate in the 18th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). A statement by the Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Davutoglu would attend OSCE meeting that take place in Vilnius on December 6 and 7. The Ministerial Council is the central decision-making and governing body of the OSCE. The meeting, held annually, provides the foreign ministers of the 56 OSCE participating states an opportunity to review and assess the Organization's activities during the past year and offer national viewpoints on security matters. With 56 states from Europe, Central Asia and North America, the OSCE is the world's largest regional security organization. It offers a forum for political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, and puts the political will of its participating states into practice through its unique network of field missions. The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities.