MAUERBACH, Austria (AP) — Austria's foreign minister is urging dozens of counterparts to overcome a "crisis of confidence" hobbling the work of a 57-nation organization tasked with reducing tensions in Europe.

Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is acting chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a forum meant to ease disputes through compromise. The OSCE must reach decisions by consensus. But regional and international rivalries are preventing agreement on issues ranging from the Ukraine crisis to filling key positions in the organization.

In his opening speech Tuesday, Kurz focused on the need for common strategies on fighting terrorism and extremism. He says that because all countries are threatened, "all (OSCE) nations must "pull in the same direction."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is among the participants.