Humanitarian co-operation between Russia and OSCE discussed in Moscow

Co-operation between Russia and the OSCE in the humanitarian sphere was discussed in Moscow during a three-day visit of Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Christian Strohal.

The Russian Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Department reported that this was Strohal's maiden visit to Russia in the capacity of the OSCE's ODIHR director, the post he has been occupying since March 1st, 2003.

At consultations in the Russian Foreign Ministry the sides touched upon problems faced by the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic countries and discussed prospects for co-operation in the restoration of peaceful life in Chechnya on the eve of the coming presidential and parliamentary elections there.

Strohal has met deputy foreign minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Chizhov and Chairman of the Russian Central Election Commission Alexander Veshnyakov, chairman of the Human Rights Commission under the Russian president Ella Pamfilova, deputy permanent representative of the Chechen Republic under the president of the Russian Federation Saitadlan Autayev and representatives of Russian non-governmental human rights organisations.