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- Ελληνικά
The Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Irini Charalambidou, met yesterday with the head of the Greek delegation to the Assembly, Dimitris Markopoulos, on the sidelines of the Summit of Women Political Leaders held in Athens.
Welcoming Ms. Charalambidou, Mr. Markopoulos praised the close cooperation between the two delegations in the framework of the OSCE CS and the positive role played by Ms. Charalambidou as a member of the Bureau of the Assembly. For her part, Ms Charalambidou thanked Mr Markopoulos for the unreserved support offered by the Greek delegation and by him personally for the efforts she herself, as a member of the Bureau, makes on issues of concern to both countries. They agreed on a number of actions to take initiatives within the OSCE CS.
The two leaders exchanged views on the latest developments in Ukraine. Both sides stressed the importance that the OSCE Chairmanship attaches to this crisis and its important consequences affecting security and stability in Europe, as well as its impact on the functioning of the OSCE and its Parliamentary Assembly. It stressed the importance of adherence by all participating States to the principles on which the OSCE is founded, as reflected in the Helsinki Final Act, for any conflict in the OSCE area, noting that States such as Turkey, through their proliferation, have managed to reap significant economic and political benefits at the expense of other European States such as Greece and Cyprus, which bear significant costs by fully implementing the adopted sanctions.
At the same time, the two leaders stressed the need to preserve the Assembly's function as a platform for dialogue and parliamentary diplomacy. Markopoulos underlined the need for a multidisciplinary approach of the Organization, as well as the need to further highlight challenges that plague the Eastern Mediterranean region, while practical ways of strengthening cooperation among Mediterranean states and upgrading the Assembly's Mediterranean Forum were also discussed.
In addition, Ms Charalambidou and Mr Markopoulos referred to the particularly important impact of the crisis in the Middle East on security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as in the entire OSCE region. Both sides noted the negative impact of regional instability on the migration issue, which is a burning issue for both countries. In this context, Ms Charalambidou referred to the migratory pressures faced by Cyprus due to the promotion of illegal immigrants through the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus.
They exchanged views on the prospects for the resumption of negotiations aimed at the resolution of the Cyprus problem as they are shaped following the appointment of a Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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