August 2018 Plenary Meetings of the Permanent Council

Address by the Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, H.E. Mr. Enzo Moavero Milanesi. The Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1304 on the extension of the deployment of OSCE observers to two Russian checkpoints on the Russian-Ukrainian border (Austria-European Union, interpretative statement 1; United States of America, interpretative statement 2; Ukraine, interpretative statement 3; Russian Federation, interpretative statement 4). The Permanent Council adopted Decision No. 1305 on amending OSCE Staff Regulations and Staff Rules (France, interpretative statement). Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine and the illegal occupation of Crimea. Situation in Ukraine and the need to implement the Minsk agreements. Ten years since the full-scale military aggression against Georgia by the Russian Federation. Tenth anniversary of the August 2008 events in the Caucasus. Hunger strike by imprisoned Ukrainian film director Mr. O. Sentsov. International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, observed on 30 August 2018. Arbitrary detention of Ms. M. Butina in the United States of America. Farewell to the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the OSCE, Ambassador S. Halimović. Farewell to the Permanent Representative of Austria to the OSCE, Ambassador C. Koja. Candidature for the OSCE Chairmanship in the year 2020. Invoking the Vienna mechanism in connection with serious human rights violations in Chechnya, Russian Federation (Canada, also on behalf of several Delegations, Annex).