Czechia came to the OSCE Ministerial with one main objective – to keep Ukraine high on the OSCE agenda in the years to come. “Just like last year in Malta, I have come to Vienna to once again call on Russia to stop its unjustifiable aggression against Ukraine. The OSCE, like the UN, is one of the few platforms where we can deliver this clear and concise message to Russia directly,” said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský.

In addition to waging war against Ukraine, Russia is also paralysing the OSCE itself by blocking the organisation’s budget. As a result, the OSCE has been operating under a provisional budget for the fourth year in a row. “By paralysing the OSCE, Russia is showing that it has no interest in an international system in which states are equal. It does not want to reach agreement with anyone; it wants to dictate,” Lipavský commented.

Despite this, Czechia is working to ensure that those projects which can continue do so successfully. Within the OSCE, it supports Ukraine’s resilience through the Support Programme for Ukraine, to whose activities it has already contributed EUR 600,000. Czechia also provides experts for the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, which gathers evidence of Russian crimes and has in the past confirmed, for example, the forced deportation of Ukrainian children. In addition, Czechia provides the OSCE Chairpersonship with a Special Representative for Ukraine.

“A major success of Czech diplomacy is the extension of the mandate of Czech Ambassador Petr Mareš as Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Ukraine,” said Minister Lipavský. Petr Mareš has held this position since December 2024 and will now serve another year in the same role. According to the Minister, this is further proof that Czechs have a voice on the international stage and are seen as reliable partners.

On the margins of the Ministerial Council, a bilateral meeting was held with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, during which the Czech Foreign Minister reaffirmed his support for the country under attack. “Minister Sybiha expressed gratitude to Czechia and Czech citizens and sincerely thanked us for everything our country has done for Ukraine,” Lipavský said.

The Czech Foreign Minister also joined a signature campaign calling for the release of three imprisoned OSCE staff members who were detained while performing their duties and have been held as hostages by Russia for more than three years. On this occasion, he also met the wife of one of them. The event was organised by the Ukrainian human rights organisation Zmina.

The day concluded with a meeting of the Group of Friends of the Western Balkans. In addition to North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia, the meeting was attended by representatives of all members of the group – Italy, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia, Greece and Slovenia. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, was also present. The main topics were the prospects for EU enlargement to include the Western Balkan countries and energy cooperation between the Western Balkans and the EU.