Kazakhstan is facing rejection in its bid for the chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2009, when the security, democracy and human rights watchdog holds its annual meeting in Madrid this week.

Instead, officials at the 56-nation OSCE are preparing a face-saving deal, under which the oil-rich central Asian state would take the rotating chairmanship in 2010 or 2011, according to plans put together by Spain, the current chairman.