News and press releases

BELGRADE, 9 January 2015- Following consultations of senior representatives of four Ministries of Foreign Affairs within the so-called Normandy format of 5 January 2015 in Berlin, and anticipating the possibility of discussions on the conflict in eastern Ukraine at a planned summit meeting in Astana on 15-16 January 2015, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), consisting of senior representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, met on 8 and 9 January, and held another round of consultations with representatives of the certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the form of a video-conference on 9 January 2015.

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). There was an increased number of ceasefire violations recorded by the JCCC, mostly in and around Donetsk airport.

VIENNA, 9 January 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today acknowledged a new law in Turkmenistan that could allow for more Internet access but raised concerns about restrictions in the measure...

The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC).Continued ceasefire violations were recorded by the JCCC in Donetsk, many in the area of the airport...

The world is mourning the horrific terrorist attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in which 12 people were murdered and several people wounded. Ten of the victims were Charlie Hebdo staff. This is the worst single attack against journalists in the OSCE region since the establishment of this Office...

COPENHAGEN, 7 January 2015 – In response to Wednesday's attack on the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva issued the following statement...

While finding that Bulgaria’s 5 October 2014 early parliamentary elections were efficiently administered and held in a competitive environment, the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) recommends restoring public confidence in the electoral process by addressing the persistent issue of vote-buying and “controlled” voting.