Along with my warmest thanks to our hosts, my dear friend and colleague Alex Stubb and his team, for their warm hospitality and excellent organization, I would like to congratulate them for their unwavering commitment in guiding the OSCE in turbulent times.

Congratulations are also due to the Secretary-General, Ambassador de Brichambaut and the entire staff of the Secretariat for their commitment, hard work and effective contribution to the success of this endeavor.

Next month, Greece will take on the chairmanship of our organization – the largest regional security organization in the UN system.

The OSCE chairmanship is – it has always been – a challenge for any country taking on this demanding task; this demanding mission.

And the endeavor is even more complex and difficult in the current international environment, the only stable characteristic of which may be the fluidity and polymorphism of the challenges the international community is facing.

The current international financial crisis, which concerns and affects everyone, increases this fluidity.

Security has long ceased to be a one-dimensional notion focused exclusively on armed crises and conflicts between states.

In our time, security is multidimensional; an all encompassing concept.

And this is where the OSCE’s comparative advantage over the other international bodies active in our broader region comes in.

Thanks to the vision of those who drew up the Helsinki Final Act, the OSCE has been built on the foundation of a comprehensive approach to security.

This allows it to adapt to the distinctive characteristics of the security challenges that it is called upon to confront.

Greece believes in the OSCE, in the work of all its institutions, including the significant role of its Parliamentary Assembly.

Greece believes in the OSCE’s capabilities and the contribution it can make to the common pursuit of greater security and stability; security and stability that are, moreover, a necessary prerequisite for dealing with the economic problems that all of us are facing.

As incoming chairmanship, we believe that, despite an existing divergence of views, we managed to reach an understanding on the way ahead at the Helsinki Ministerial.

The Greek Chairmanship will endeavor to the best of its abilities to meet the exacting obligations of the mission it is undertaking.

Our program and priorities will be presented to our colleagues and partners of the other 55 Participating States on the 15th of January, when we will officially launch the Greek Chairmanship-in-Office.

Our attention and time will be focused in particular on the region of the Caucasus and Central Asia, with emphasis, obviously, on the aftermath of the crisis in Georgia.

I am scheduling a number of visits to these regions, beginning immediately after we take up the responsibilities of the Chairmanship.

The crisis in August shattered long-standing perceptions regarding security in the OSCE region.

In the end, this crisis may function as a springboard for a broader discussion of new European comprehensive security architecture.

Whether this dialogue will eventually reach the level of a Summit Meeting remains to be seen.

The discussion is currently under way.

Greece recognizes the need to carry out an open and substantial dialogue. We believe that such a dialogue is useful and necessary. We will be in close communication with all our partners.

We have but one aspiration: To carry out an active chairmanship as an honest broker.

We will work hard, we will spare no effort to foster understanding, build consensus and bridge existing gaps.

We will work hard to strengthen our Organization’s unique role and mission.