§ Mr. David AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council regarding the situation in Chechnya. [142378]
§ Mr. VazThe OSCE Ministerial Council, held in Vienna on 27–28 November, did not reach consensus on a Declaration, due in part to differences over the draft language on Chechnya. The Austrian Chair-in-Office issued a statement on her own authority. On Chechnya she noted that a political solution to the conflict was essential, that Ministers had requested Russian support for the immediate return of the OSCE Assistance Group, and called for independent investigation and prosecution of alleged human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law.