Kouchner calls for enhancing security

VIENNA, July 17 (UPI) -- France's foreign minister Thursday called on the international community to enhance security efforts in Central Asia and increase engagement in Afghanistan.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, speaking in Vienna before the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said more needs to be done to resolve ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and around Central Asia. Kouchner also called on the international community to support the OSCE's security efforts in Kosovo.

Kouchner, who spoke on behalf of France, which currently hold the rotating presidency of the European Union, additionally called for talks at the OSCE to address a recent proposal for a European security pact.

"I know the discussions that are ongoing in the Organization," Kouchner said in a statement.

"Since the first meeting, the OSCE has always been the place to have a debate on security. … These debates have to be closely linked to the debates that are ongoing in the EU, not just because the EU represents half the OSCE but because the two share the same values and principles."