Secretary General welcomes Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia and Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, on Tuesday (29 January 2019) to discuss regional issues and defence investment. The Secretary General thanked Slovakia for its long-term engagement in Afghanistan and for its wider commitment to boosting Alliance security.
Mr. Stoltenberg and Mr. Lajčák, as Chairman–in-Office of the OSCE, also discussed the situation in Ukraine. The Secretary General welcomed Slovakia’s continued efforts to reduce tensions, build trust and facilitate dialogue, stressing that “NATO will continue to press Russia to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to live up to its Minsk commitments”.
In his capacity as OSCE Chairman-in-Office for 2019, Mr. Lajčák also briefed the North Atlantic Council on the priorities for the year ahead. The three areas for actions established by the Slovak Chairmanship will be to prevent, mediate and mitigate conflict while focusing on the people it affects, to provide for a safer future and to promote effective multilateralism.