MINSK, 16 March (BelTA) – Belarus is committed to the OSCE basic principles, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Christine Muttonen on 16 March, BelTA has learned.

“Your visit is very important for us. We thank you for the trust placed in Belarus and the opportunity to host the Parliamentary Assembly session. Indeed, we need to discuss many issues. I would like to say honestly and openly that we will do our best to organize the best OSCE PA session in history. We want it to demonstrate that Belarus is committed to the basic principles of work of the OSCE,” the head of state said.

“We will demonstrate this to the whole world, first of all, to the MPs, representatives of other countries included in this organization. We will show once again that the prejudiced opinions that existed and still exist in the West are groundless. We will also show that Belarus is a European country. Human rights, the rule of law and democracy are as important here as in other European states, including in the European Union,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed.

He assured that the decision to host the annual session of the OSCE PA in Belarus was the right one. “The situation in Belarus is relatively calm against the backdrop of the events happening in the world. I promise to you that the situation will be the same in the run-up to the event, during and after it,” the Belarusian leader added.

Christine Muttonen, for her part, remarked that the forthcoming OSCE PA session is very important and plays a big role in the development of ties between nations. “We had very productive talks yesterday. I am sure that all necessary things have been already done and will be done to ensure that this session is a success,” she said.

The decision to hold the 26th annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Minsk on 5-9 July 2017 was made at the 25th annual session of the OSCE PA. The national organizing committee for the 26th annual session of the OSCE PA involving the heads of government bodies and other organizations has been established in Belarus.

The general topic of the 26th annual session of the OSCE PA - strengthening mutual trust and cooperation for peace and prosperity in the OSCE region – has been agreed with the OSCE PA International Secretariat.