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Russian International Affairs Council is taking part in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly initiative. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly invites three think- tanks to take lead in the project: Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), Russia; German Marshall Fund, USA; Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Sweden. Each think-tank will host a seminar on a related topic. The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) will host the first seminar of the Helsinki +40 Project in Washington in early summer 2014; the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) will host the second seminar in Moscow in autumn 2014; and the International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) will host the third event of the Project in Stockholm in early spring 2015.

Russian International Affairs Council is taking part in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly initiative.

August 2015 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. The two years before this milestone give us time to fulfill the commitments undertaken and to develop, looking towards the future and capitalizing on the past, concrete action lines for the OSCE and its participating States. There is a need to take stock of where we currently stand, exploring possible new tools and methods of moving forward with a particular focus on the role of parliamentary diplomacy in general and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in particular.

Through the engagement of distinguished experts, politicians, diplomats and civil society representatives, the Assembly aims to open up the discussion currently limited to the Informal Helsinki +40 Working Group in Vienna, providing important food-for-thought materials and action lines for the OSCE participating States and the Organization as a whole. Its objective is also to evaluate the work of the OSCE in the past, present, and future.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly invites  three think- tanks to take lead in the project: Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), Russia; German Marshall Fund (GMF), USA; Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Sweden.

Each think-tank will host a seminar on a related topic. The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) will host the first seminar of the Helsinki +40 Project in Washington in early summer 2014; the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) will host the second seminar  in Moscow in autumn 2014; and the International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) will host the third event of the Project in Stockholm in early spring 2015.

Each Helsinki +40 seminar will produce discussion papers and articles that will be synthesized in a Final Report and presented in July 2015 at the Project's final colloquium and at  the 24th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The Project's leaders include former OSCE PA President Joao Soares (Portugal); Chair of the OSCE PA Committee on Transparency and Reform of the OSCE François-Xavier de Donnea (Belgium); and OSCE Special Co-ordinator for the Helsinki +40 Process Ilkka Kanerva (Finland).

The Project will be co-ordinated by the leadership of the participating think-tanks and experts at the OSCE PA International Secretariat in Copenhagen, led by PA Secretary General Spencer Oliver.

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  1. In your opinion, what are the US long-term goals for Russia?
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