The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office's Special Representative for Protracted Conflicts, Ambassador Bolat Nurgaliyev said that political will on part of OSCE participating States is a key factor for the success of the Organization, including its efforts to resolve protracted conflicts.

Speaking to representatives of the 56 OSCE participating States at a session of the OSCE Review Conference that focuses on politico-military security, Nurgaliyev said the opportunity offered by the OSCE Summit to be held 1-2 December in Astana had to be used wisely, the OSCE press service reported.

"In the vital interests of the Organization's future, we have to make the Astana Summit a success, the measure of which should be its tangible contribution to comprehensive security in international, Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian arenas," he said.

Discussing protracted conflicts, Nurgaliyev said Kazakhstan's OSCE Chairmanship recognized that mediators, "however persuasive their arguments may sound, can achieve only a fraction if there is a lack of political will on the sides to the conflict for lasting, comprehensive settlement."