OSCE Annual Security Review Conference offers high-level platform to discuss most pressing security challenges across the OSCE area

VIENNA, 17 June 2026 – The Annual Security Review Conference (ASRC), one of the OSCE's principal forums for discussing security challenges across the region, opened today in Vienna.

Convened on the basis of a consensus decision by all 57 OSCE participating States, the ASRC provides a unique platform for inclusive discussions on current security developments and reaffirms participating States’ continued commitments to maintaining dialogue on security issues affecting the OSCE area. The two-day conference brings together high-level officials and diplomats from across the region.

At a time of heightened geopolitical tensions and evolving security threats, the ASRC offers participating States an opportunity to assess current and emerging challenges and discuss the OSCE's role in addressing them. 

As the war in Ukraine continues to pose a major threat to regional and global security, the ASRC reaffirms the importance of preserving channels of communication and making full use of the OSCE's unique role as a platform for inclusive security dialogue, bringing together all key actors.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu opened the Conference.

“For the past six months, Switzerland has held the OSCE Chairpersonship with the conviction that when diplomacy seems impossible, it becomes indispensable. We are meeting today as Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to rage and political and military challenges are multiplying across Europe,” stated Chairman-in-Office Cassis. The Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs added that “It is urgent that the OSCE regains its ability to anticipate, engage in dialogue and mitigate risks. Despite the deadlocks, despite the tensions, despite the mistrust, I am convinced that our organization still has a vital role to play, because it brings together around the same table states that no longer speak to one another elsewhere. We need a forum in which to discuss the future of European security.”

In his opening remarks, OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu emphasized: “It remains in the interest of each and every OSCE participating State to build a more stable and predictable security environment. I believe progress can still be made in the current difficult conditions, with trust at its lowest point, and risks at the highest. 

OSCE security-building tools were precisely designed to increase transparency, reduce uncertainty, and lower risks, even in periods of low trust and growing polarization. We need to rediscover them and adapt them to the new reality of warfare.”

The Conference will continue tomorrow. A number of side events held on the margins of the Conference will provide opportunities for a more in-depth exploration of specific issues complementing the main programme. 

In today’s security environment, integrating new voices and perspectives is essential. In this spirit, the Swiss Chairpersonship and the Norwegian Chair of the Structured Dialogue are co-organizing a side event on “Next-Generation Voices on Arms Control”, focusing on risk reduction, transparency and European security in a changing environment.

Read the opening remarks by Chairman-in-Office Cassis here: https://www.eda.admin.ch/en/newnsb/i6qCoug_EqQF59jSN7KdT

Read the opening remarks by OSCE Secretary General Sinirlioğlu here: https://www.osce.org/secretary-general/665824