National Statement by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Mr. Dag Hartelius

Excellencies,

While fully subscribing to the EU statement, I make the following remarks
in national capacity.

Sweden strongly condemns Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,
which is a flagrant violation of international law and OSCE principles and
commitments. Russia’s aggression, recent airspace violations of EU
Member States and broader malicious activities illustrate Russia’s threat
to international security which needs to be countered. Our pressure on
Russia must increase. We also condemn Belarus and other countries for
providing support to the aggression.

Our support for Ukraine is unwavering. We stand firmly with Ukraine in its
efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace. We fully support solutions that
respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that will ensure
Ukraine’s and Europe’s long-term security and interests. The only
obstacle to peace is Russia.

Sweden’s military, and civilian support will continue, as will our full
support for Ukraine’s EU Membership and integration in Euro-Atlantic
security structures. Ukraine has the right enshrined in OSCE
commitments to freely choose its security arrangements.

The UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act are clear: sovereign rights,
political independence, and territorial integrity must be respected.
Borders cannot be changed by force.

Accountability, including for the crime of aggression, is vital. The OSCE’s
contributions, including through its human rights mechanisms, ODIHR’s
monitoring activities and the open approach to civil society remain of key
importance.

Excellencies,

The clear message from the parallel civil society conference confirms
growing authoritarianism and increased human rights violations in many
parts of the OSCE. We urge the Russian and Belarusian regimes to stop
repressing their own peoples and uphold international human rights law
and OSCE commitments. Georgia’s people and their pursuit of a
democratic, peaceful and European future deserve our support. We
strongly condemn the Georgian authorities’ continued and intensified
crackdown on independent voices and the Georgian opposition. Georgia
must uphold its international obligations and OSCE commitments. We
continue to demand Russia to withdraw its military presence from
Georgia’s sovereign territory.

Moldova remains on the frontline of Russian hybrid activities. The
Moldovan people has voted to stay on the European path and Sweden
welcomes the reform progress that has been made. Now is the time for
the EU accession process to move forward.

Excellencies,

It has been an honor for Sweden to chair the Human Dimension
Committee this year. The autonomous institutions belong to the bedrock
of the OSCE. Their unique mandates and invaluable contributions must
be preserved, also at a time of cost reductions and streamlining to
secure the OSCE’s long-term functionality. The supportive role of the
Secretary General acting upon political guidance from the Chair and
participating States is key.

We continue to demand that Russia immediately and unconditionally
releases all political prisoners, including the detained OSCE staff
members.

In conclusion, I wish Switzerland success and thank Minister Valtonen
and team Finland for the strong leadership in defense of the Helsinki
principles and the European security order.