NEWS

OSCE Chairperson says presence of Police Advisory Group in Kyrgyzstan will facilitate strengthening trust, stability and order in country

ASTANA, 22 July 2010 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev, praised the decision taken today in Vienna by the OSCE Permanent Council to deploy a Police Advisory Group to Kyrgyzstan.

“From the onset Kazakhstan has been advocating for the OSCE’s effective participation in the settlement of the situation in Kyrgyzstan, within the existing mandate of the Organization. In view of this, we supported from the start the request of Kyrgyzstan’s authorities to deploy a Police Advisory Group. I sincerely welcome the fact that all 56 participating States of the OSCE have demonstrated their wisdom and achieved consensus about the deployment of OSCE police advisers in Kyrgyzstan, which was formalized today by the decision of the representatives of our countries in Vienna,” Saudabayev said.

“The presence of the Police Advisory Group in the regions that were the site of violent clashes will facilitate strengthening trust, stability and order in the country. As President Nursultan Nazarbayev emphasized during the informal ministerial meeting of OSCE foreign ministers in Almaty, Kazakhstan stands ready to continue supporting the brotherly people of Kyrgyzstan both as the OSCE Chairmanship and on a bilateral level.”

Earlier today, a decision on the immediate deployment of the OSCE Police Advisory Group to Kyrgyzstan was taken by the OSCE Permanent Council. The first group of 52 officers will be sent for a period of four months immediately after the selection of law enforcement experts from OSCE participating States. The duration of the mission and the group’s numbers can be extended with the joint agreement of Kyrgyzstan and the Permanent Council.

Following the informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers near Almaty on 17 July, it was announced that the OSCE participating States had reached consensus on deployment of the OSCE Police Advisory Group to Kyrgyzstan.

Date of issue: 2010-07-22