The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is coming home these days.
About 250 parliamentarians
from 52 participating states have gathered here today in The Hague.
Different histories,
different political traditions,
different cultures and different security perspectives.
In this forum, you provide those conditions.
To use words instead of weapons.
A bridge between the East and the West.
Let us use these days not only to debate,
but also to listen.
Support our efforts for diplomacy so that this war
ends through negotiations.
In a world so unsettled, with so much war and conflict,
it is extremely important that countries continue to talk to each other about
how we can promote peace and security through diplomacy.
Diplomacy is not just a matter for governments,
it is very much one for parliaments too.
It is paramount that we simply keep talking.
For only by talking can you prevent conflicts.
The declarations and resolutions we adopt here,
must shape legislation,
strengthen democratic oversight
and inform the policies of our governments.
Your leadership is more important than ever.
Let history remember this Assembly as one that chose to keep its promises.