"OSCE's existence is built on the Helsinki Process, which in the late 1970s established several fundamental principles that were crucial during the then-divided world between East and West. These principles are now being undermined by Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine and against European security as a whole," Minister Lipavský said before the conference.

In their speeches, several counterparts highlighted the nearly three-year-long Russian war in Ukraine. During the speech by the head of the Russian delegation, Minister Lipavský, along with colleagues from Poland and the Baltic states, symbolically walked out of the conference hall.

On the evening before the ministerial meeting, on Wednesday, December 4, a working dinner was held for OSCE member state ministers supporting Ukraine.
"The dinner focused on how to support Ukraine. A significant success for Czech diplomacy is that Czech diplomat Petr Mareš will serve as the OSCE Special Representative for Ukraine. We managed to negotiate and secure this appointment in recent weeks, it has been approved, and during the dinner, he was introduced to the other states," Minister Lipavský said regarding the appointment of the experienced Czech diplomat.

Representatives from nearly sixty member states also addressed issues concerning the organization’s operations, including the selection of chairing countries for the upcoming years and filling key positions within OSCE structures.