Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella is attending the OSCE ministerial meeting in Kiev on Thursday and Friday, where he is expected to reaffirm Malta’s commitment to enhance security and stability within the organisation, particularly in relation to the Mediterranean region.

People in Ukraine are currently protesting at their government’s decision to to spurn closer trade ties with the European Union, under pressure from Russia.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich is expected in Malta in the coming days.

Nato foreign ministers this evening condemned use of excessive force against protesters.

The meeting will focus on the work carried out by the organisation over the past year, which was led by the Ukrainian chairmanship, and will seek consensus at the highest political level among the representatives of the 57 participating states, on decisions concerning areas of the organisation’s work.

It will also chart the way for future action on matters ranging from freedom of the media to human trafficking to border management issues. A key issue for the Organisation will be a focus on its work since its inception under the so-called Helsinki+40 process. Such focus will reassess the Organisation’s role for the future and reaffirm the commitment to peace-building and dialogue as a key aspect of the OSCE’s work.

Among the expected outcomes of the OSCE ministerial meeting are guidelines for the work of the Organisation’s Forum for Security Cooperation.

Malta will be chairing this forum as of January 24, overseeing issues related to the politico-military security matters. In this regard, meetings with the other chairs of the forum for 2014, namely Moldova and Monaco, are envisaged on the margins of the ministerial meeting.

The Minister will be accompanied by the Permanent Representative of Malta to the OSCE, Ambassador Keith Azzopardi, as well as ministry officials.