"Astana would be prepared for such a summit during its chairmanship," Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev said during a meeting with diplomatic representatives in the country's capital, Astana.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe agreed a year ago that Kazakhstan would chair the organization in 2010, making it the first post-Soviet country to do so. Ensuring that participating states respect human rights is a core function of the OSCE.
"Kazakhstan has no time to lose in making necessary rights improvements," said Rachel Denber, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in a report released on December 1. "Before it becomes chair of the OSCE in 2010, it should show its people and the world it is serious about reform."
According to the December 1 report, the OSCE has demanded Kazakhstan revise its draft religion law to bring it into conformity with the Kazakh constitution and international human rights standards, as well as abolish legal provisions that permit unnecessary restrictions on locations where demonstrations can take place.
Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan had already defined "concrete priorities during its chairing of the OSCE in 2010."
"With all of the dynamic changes in the world and in order to give the OSCE a new impulse in its activities, it is important to hold the organization's [2010] summit," the president said. "I would like to express my support for the initiatives in the OSCE's role as the optimal platform for solving issues in strengthening the security architecture in the Euro-Atlantic space."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has suggested holding an all-European summit to discuss a new legally binding treaty on European security.
