Slovakia's Chairmanship of the OSCE: Priorities and Challenges - Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Discussion of Issues Ranging from Russian Aggression in Ukraine to Cybersecurity

The OSCE's main purpose is fostering peace in the Euro- Atlantic and Eurasian spaces through a comprehensive approach to security. We believe this institution continues to play an important role in working towards this goal.

However, our common security is under continued challenge by Russia's contempt for the international order. Trust is damaged when one country blatantly violates international law. The OSCE's crisis response capacity is critical in responding to security concerns arising when OSCE commitments are blatantly ignored, such as Russia's aggression in Ukraine and Georgia.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been at the center of the OSCE's focus for four years now. I welcome your strong commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and look forward to hearing your views on this singular challenge within the OSCE region and especially your assessment of efforts to reach a solution that would restore Ukraine's full control over its own territory.

Human rights and democracy are the beating heart of the Helsinki process and it is critical that we preserve the ability of civil society to participate fully in its meetings and work. While I am deeply concerned about the erosion of democratic norms in some parts of the OSCE, it is important that we support, amplify, and replicate positive developments where we can.

This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.