Veteran Turkish diplomat, former ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu, made the following statement to Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber, following his election to the position of Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), following a joint proposal for the his candidacy from Greece and Turkey:

“First of all, I would like to express my pleasure that I was nominated for this position by a joint letter of the foreign ministers of Turkey and Greece. I am also honored to be elected to this position by the decision and consent of 57 countries. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our president for his trust and support. Likewise, our minister has supported me closely at every moment of this process.

“This is an important task. The OSCE, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, covers a wide geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok. The OSCE has great potential to serve peace, stability and security in a period of serious challenges that is expected to follow. I hope that the 57 participating countries will make full use of this potential. I stand ready to work closely with each of them to that end. Of course, there is currently a major war going on in the geography of the OSCE. It is the wish of all of us that this war will end this year. Of course, this is also my greatest wish as the new Secretary General of the OSCE.

“The OSCE has a very comprehensive agenda. But the priority issue is, of course, that there is an ongoing conflagration in the geography of the OSCE. Extinguishing this fire is a task of the highest priority. It is a challenge of the highest priority. This will also be my priority.

“The OSCE has done an important job in the past with regard to Ukraine. Following the Crimean incident in 2014, following the seizure of Crimea, the OSCE assumed an observer mission in the ongoing conflicts between the government and the Donbass region in Ukraine. The OSCE continued this mission until the start of the war. In other words, the OSCE is an experienced organization in Ukraine. He is ready to take on any mission reassigned to him. As secretary-general, I will always be on the side of the parties if they decide to start peace negotiations and I will try to contribute as a mediator in my capacity as OSCE secretary-general.”