The OSCE Mission to Moldova has confirmed that the head of the mission, Louis F. O'Neill will end his term ahead of time by leaving the post on November 16, 2007. As the OSCE Mission press office in Chisinau told a REGNUM correspondent, the American diplomat intends to resign under his own initiative, after that the plans to “return to business.” The press office of the mission says his mandate officially terminates on January 21, 2008, however, Louis O’Neill decided to resign two month before his term expires.
According to mission spokesman Claus Neukirch, in the near future the OSCE will announce a competition for the post of the mission head. A new candidature will be agreed with the governments of the Republic of Moldova, Belgium, which was previous OSCE chair-in-office, and Finland that is to become chair-in-office in 2008.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson refused to comment on reports that Mr. O’Neill was dismissed for his inability to organize a true dialog between NGOs in Moldova and Transdnestr.
REGNUM information:
US citizen Louis F. O'Neill served as the head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova since June 2006, after he replaced another American diplomat, William Hill. On August 31, the Russian Interior Ministry sent a subpoena to US citizen Louis O'Neill. The ministry noted that if the American diplomat ignored the subpoena, he would be charged in absentia and put on wanted list via the Interpol. The Russian law enforcement suspects O’Neill in smuggling. According to the investigation, this spring, the US citizen tried to take out from Russia 75 rarity Soviet posters dated back to 1920s, which are considered to be culture treasures in Russia. The posters were found, when the diplomat was undergoing customs inspection at Moscow Domodedovo Airport. As the interior ministry says, Louis O'Neill had no documents permitting removal of the posters having cultural value. The posters were seized and the US citizen, after producing a diplomatic passport, departed from Russia.
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