AKIPRESS.COM - An OSCE-supported regional training seminar for some 50 military officers from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan on the practical implementation of the Vienna Document 2011 and confidence- and security-building measures began today in Astana, OSCE said in a release.

The OSCE Programme Office in Astana organized the four-day event in co-operation with Kazakhstan's Defence Ministry and with the support of the OSCE field operations.

Military and civilian experts from France, Hungary, the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia will share their expertise. The participants will discuss developments in the field of confidence- and security-building measures, which are the focus of the Vienna Document 2011, as well as its implementation aspects, such as inspection procedures, experience exchange and the demonstration of weapons and equipment systems.

Deputy Defence Minister of Kazakhstan Talgat Mukhtarov said: “The Vienna Document is one of the most important instruments of the OSCE’s politico-military dimension. It has long served to promote co-operation, transparency and confidence building as well as a system of verification. While the annual seminar serves to help us understand the ‘letter’ of the Vienna Document, it is always very important that our activities embrace its ‘spirit.’”

“The OSCE has been placing considerable emphasis on building confidence and security through closer co-operation of the armed forces in the region under the Vienna Document 2011,” said György Szabó, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana. “What makes the Vienna Document so exceptional is that it does not only helps de-escalate a potential conflict, but can help build relations between countries in such a way that war between them seems inconceivable.”

Robin Mossinkoff, Head of the Forum for Security Co-operation Support Section, highlighted the work done to build trust and confidence by OSCE participating States, supported by the OSCE. He noted that this was conducted not only under the Vienna Document, but also agreements such as the Code of Conduct on Political-Military Aspects of Security and the Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition.

The seminar will include theoretical exercises and a simulated inspection visit to the 36th Air Assault Brigade near Astana on 27 May. The participants will carry out an evaluation in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Document on compliance and verification, and produce a report.

The Vienna Document was adopted by all OSCE participating States and obliges them to share information on their armed forces and military activities. It also contains provisions on compliance and verification, such as conducting and hosting inspections and evaluations, as well as on risk reduction, military contacts and co-operation, and prior notification of certain military activities.

The OSCE Programme Office in Astana has been organizing seminars on the Vienna Document in Kazakhstan since 2006. The seminar is part of the Programme Office's long-standing efforts to promote OSCE confidence- and security-building measures and regional security.