A few weeks into Finland's one-year role as chair of the international security organisation OSCE, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP) was set to spend Thursday laying out the Nordic country's programme at a meeting in Vienna, Austria.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), includes members from 57 states and 11 co-operation partners. Its main mission is to gather diplomats from Europe, North America and Central Asia to work out disputes.
Those countries also include Russia and Ukraine — which remain entrenched in a war, following Russia's full-blown invasion of the country nearly three years ago — as well as Western nations, which have widely supported Ukraine's defence.
Some observers think the current situation will not prompt fruitful discussions at the meeting.
Joel Linnainmäki, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), told Yle that "the OSCE has been in a significant political crisis for quite some time now".
Russia and its allies have blocked a good deal of the organisation's decision making efforts, and the group has not been able to approve a new budget since 2021.
Linnainmäki said that hardly anyone has high expectations during Finland's leadership term of the OSCE. The goal, he suggested, is to keep the organisation afloat.
OSCE's Helsinki roots
However, Foreign Minister Valtonen told Yle that the OSCE is still viable, despite the situation.
"Of course it is difficult for Russia. Russia doesn't accept certain things, for example focusing [discussion] on Ukraine," she said.
The minister cited improvements in the situation, including the group agreeing to the appointment of a new Secretary General, Feridun Sinirlioğlu from Turkey, as well as the selection of a new chair, Switzerland.
A few years ago, Finland was named the OSCE chair for 2025, a year which marks the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Helsinki CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) Conference — a precursor to the establishment of the OSCE.
The conference five decades ago resulted in 35 nations signing the Helsinki Final Act, which had a far-reaching effect on the Cold War and US-Soviet relations.
Alongside their respective allies, the US and then-USSR leaders sat down to discuss their issues in Helsinki at the meeting, resulting in eased tensions between the two superpowers.
The development prompted references about the 'spirit of Helsinki', which was said to have led to the diplomatic milestone.
OSCE Helsinki summit plans cancelled
Former Finnish president Sauli Niinistö made plans for a major OSCE summit to be held in Helsinki marking the 50th anniversary, with an aim for member nations to resolve their conflicts.
But, following Russia's full-blown attack on Ukraine in February 2021, Finland abandoned the summit plans. Many found it unrealistic to envision Russian President Vladimir Putin shaking hands and negotiating with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Helsinki's Finlandia Hall this summer.
However, Minister Valtonen refused to criticise the summit effort.
"The world has changed. There was nothing wrong with it, there is absolutely nothing wrong with those principles, or the principles of the spirit of Helsinki," Valtonen said.
Finland is instead planning a summer summit of non-governmental organisation representatives, without foreign heads of state or ministers present.
According to Valtonen, the OSCE is irreplaceable in the world's current political situation.
US-Soviet relations were quite tense in 1975, as well.
"It wasn't like there was a coalition of like-minded people then, either," she said.
Despite the tensions, the nations attending that historic summit committed to respecting each other's borders — as well as human rights, among other things.
According to Valtonen, the OSCE also does a good deal of work within civil society organisations in countries where they may face challenges.
"It all starts from people's possibilities to improve democracy, the rule of law and strengthening human rights in societies. These are areas in which the OSCE is very strong," she said.
Valtonen said that Finland's most important role as it chairs the OSCE is to support Ukraine.
"We intend to do everything we can to ensure Ukraine receives just peace," Valtonen said.
Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion into Ukraine in 2022, OSCE observers kept watch over the front line between Ukraine and Russian-supported separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk.
According to Valtonen, the organisation could play some kind of similar role in future, once peace is reached.