Sir, – Jim Sharkey, like me a former Irish ambassador to Russia, rows in behind Paul Gillespie’s appeal for dialogue between the European Union and Russia (“Europe must end its juvenile taboo against talking to Russia,” June 17th). Sharkey draws attention to our peace process as a relevant example of reframing a political problem.
Edward Burke (Letters, June 16th) cites the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as a pre-existing framework of engagement. Referencing this, Roger MacGinty (Letters, June 18th) calls for “diplomatic urgency”.
As a former permanent representative to the OSCE, may I suggest, in particular, that we can act creatively and urgently making use of the OSCE? Beyond its many specialised competencies, the OSCE is a space for dialogue, as Paul Gillespie notes in hisarticle.
On June 10th, through Dóchas, the humanitarian and development sector launched a new vision for foreign policy. The wide range of stakeholders argue that Ireland can “demonstrate what it looks like to lead through co-operation, rather than dominance and defence”.
READ MORE
Within the OSCE, we can begin to promote new ways of co-operating to address the most consequential challenges of our time. As a regional security organisation, a functioning OSCE will focus, among other things, on a deeper understanding of the meaning of security. It deserves to be noted, too, that the US administration is on record as supporting an effective OSCE. – Yours, etc,
Philip McDonagh,
Adjunct professor,
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Dublin City University.
