Germany assumes OSCE chairmanship in tough times, the country’s Foreign Minister said, according to TASS.

"I'm confident that right now we need the OSCE as a platform for dialogue and confidence building,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier stressed. “If we want to achieve peace in the OSCE area, we should join efforts.”

According to the Minister, Germany aims to enhance the OSCE’s capabilities in terms of conflict settlement.

“Also, we are going to take part in the process of settlement of conflicts in Nagorno Karabakh, Transnistria and the South Caucasus, at the same time triggering the OSCE missions in those locations,” Steinmeier went on to say.

The German foreign policy chief will leave for Vienna Thursday, January 14, to unveil Germany’s chairmanship program.