Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took to the world stage on Wednesday. Facing some of the top world leaders that have been mentioned in highly unflattering terms in U.S. State Department cables leaked by Wikileaks on Sunday.
But from the appearance all seemed well—smiling faces and friendly handshakes at the Organization of Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Kazakhstan.
Speaking after the meeting Clinton said the leaks will “not in any way interfere” with American diplomacy.
“I have not had any concerns expressed about whether any nation will not continue to work with and discuss matters of importance to us both, going forward,” she said.
Washington has strongly condemned what it describes as an “illegal disclosure of classified information.” Wikileaks started on Sunday with the release of a total of 251,287 documents, as of yet only 505 documents have been released.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley described the timing of the conference as “exquisite.” According to Crowley there is “no doubt” that the leaked cables have come up within the meeting.
“We are—we’re not going to let what WikiLeaks has done undermine the global cooperation that is vitally important to resolving regional and global security challenges,” Crownley said in a press briefing.
But from the appearance all seemed well—smiling faces and friendly handshakes at the Organization of Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Kazakhstan.
Speaking after the meeting Clinton said the leaks will “not in any way interfere” with American diplomacy.
“I have not had any concerns expressed about whether any nation will not continue to work with and discuss matters of importance to us both, going forward,” she said.
Washington has strongly condemned what it describes as an “illegal disclosure of classified information.” Wikileaks started on Sunday with the release of a total of 251,287 documents, as of yet only 505 documents have been released.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley described the timing of the conference as “exquisite.” According to Crowley there is “no doubt” that the leaked cables have come up within the meeting.
“We are—we’re not going to let what WikiLeaks has done undermine the global cooperation that is vitally important to resolving regional and global security challenges,” Crownley said in a press briefing.
OSCE Summit
The Organization of Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) includes 56 member states from Europe, Central Asia, and North America. It is the largest regional security organization in the world.
It is the first time in over 10 years for the member states to come together. The last meeting was in Istanbul in 1999. One of the achievements sought after is the effective implementation of human rights across member states—something in peril in Kazakhstan itself.
“The disappointing paradox is that Kazakhstan has been very active as OSCE chair but took few if any meaningful steps to improve its own human rights record,” said Rachel Denber, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch in a statement.
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