Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the panelists for both insightful and thought-provoking interventions. Norway fully aligns with the statement on behalf of the 26 member states. Allow me however to make three short remarks in my national capacity.
First, the principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, including the indivisibility of frontiers, territorial integrity, sovereignty, adherence to international law and human rights, are and must remain the foundation of security and cooperation in Europe.
The Russian Federation has through its war of aggression against Ukraine, violated each and every one of them. Ukraine has the full right to decide its future security arrangements, free from coercion. The principles still stand, even when a participating state disregards them.
Second, the OSCE emerged from Helsinki not as a promise, but as a process, based on a set of robust principles, that gave rise to field missions, autonomous institutions, and the capacity to respond. These tools are not relics – they are safeguards. But they require investment, engagement and political will. We are grateful to the Finnish chairpersonship for the way you have conducted the small group discussions throughout the year – on our common Helsinki principles – accountability, respect – and on the need for modernization of the OSCE to prepare this organization for the future.
Third, as the professor pointed to, “We use it, or we lose it”. Through the framework of the Structured Dialogue as a laboratory, we hope to explore step by step preparations and adaptions of our OSCE tools to manage distrust now and in the future. Contemporary security cannot rest on political intentions alone, but require robust, technical and verifiable arrangements that can function under low or zero trust conflicts. Thus, hopefully slowly paving the path to the initial spirit and form that could contribute to ensuring our fundamental principles are respected and thereby our security upheld.
Norway remains steadfast in our commitment to the Helsinki Final Act and its principles.