A lot will depend on the extent to which Russia and Ukraine are willing to make concessions on or across the main issue areas and the extent to which they and the presumptive security guarantors are willing and able to deliver on any deal that might ultimately shape up.
Creating the conditions for negotiations is not the same as creating the conditions for their success, as eight years of unsuccessful attempts to bring peace to eastern Ukraine sadly testify.
Muddying the diplomatic waters further with an unpalatable, and in all likelihood unattainable, “solution” wastes precious time and resources that now would be better devoted to achieving a stable ceasefire and an end to Russia’s aggression.
Even the most difficult and protracted negotiations are preferable to the spectre of further armed conflict.
Engagement with China must not lead to a further weakening of the OSCE human dimension, which is already under a lot of pressure.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan poses local, regional and global stability challenges for the OSCE and its participating States.
China has become a significant actor in the OSCE area at a time of deep divisions among participating States.
Within days of Maia Sandu’s victory, the protracted conflict over Transnistria has moved to the centre stage again.
The protracted conflicts across the post-Soviet space have returned to the center of regional and international politics over the past several months.