§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he intends to make in the Council of Ministers meeting for the OSCE in Oslo on 2 to 3 December regarding the proposal for Turkey to host the next summit of the OSCE in Istanbul in February. [62395]
§ Mr. Tony LloydThe OSCE Ministerial Council agreed by consensus on 2 December that the next OSCE Summit will be held in Istanbul in 1999. The United Kingdom joined the consensus on this decision.
The UK did not make any representations in the Ministerial Council regarding the proposal for Turkey to host the next summit. We believe that holding the summit in Istanbul will draw attention to Turkey's human rights record and help to advance the OSCES' s dialogue with Turkey on human rights issues.