Biden Meets Swiss Leader, OSCE Head on Ukraine

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U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday met Didier Burkhalter, leader of Switzerland and current head of the OSCE group that is seeking a leading role during Ukraine's political transition.

Biden held nine phone calls with ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych in recent weeks, seeking to quell political violence, and has emerged as the White House's top pointman on the issue.

Biden and Burkhalter "consulted on the current situation in Ukraine, including what support the United States and the OSCE could offer to help return the country to peace and stability, to ensure justice and accountability, and to strengthen democratic institutions as Ukrainians chart their future course," a White House statement said.

The 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is seeking to act as a coordinator of aid and assistance to the transitional government in Kiev.

The OSCE, headquartered in Austria, operates by consensus and counts countries from Europe, North America and Central Asia -- including Ukraine but not the United States -- as members.

Switzerland currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE.

Biden also thanked Burkhalter for Switzerland's role in representing U.S. diplomatic interests in countries where it has no diplomatic relations, including Iran and Cuba.

Burkhalter, who holds the Swiss presidency, which rotates yearly among a seven-member cross party cabinet, also discussed the threat of violent extremism, non proliferation and humanitarian assistance with Biden at the White House meeting, the statement said.

Comments 1
Default-user-icon Ramsey (Guest) 26 February 2014, 10:03

The OSCE has "participating states" not members, and the US is definitely one of them (http://www.osce.org/who/83)

Albania
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
Finland
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Latvia
Luxembourg
Monaco
Norway
Romania
Serbia
Spain
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
United States
Andorra
Azerbaijan
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Denmark
France
Greece
Iceland
Kazakhstan
Liechtenstein
Malta
Montenegro
Poland
Russian Federation
Slovakia
Sweden
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Armenia
Belarus
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Estonia
Georgia
Holy See
Ireland
Kyrgyzstan
Lithuania
Moldova
Mongolia
Netherlands
Portugal
San Marino
Slovenia
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom