News and press releases

National Points of Contact from 16 OSCE participating States on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their components were familiarized with countries’ commitments stemming from this Resolution, at a training session co-organized by the OSCE from 28 June to 1 July 2016 in Kaliningrad, in the Russian Federation. A National Point of Contact from Chile – an observer State – also took part...

VIENNA, 1 July 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today welcomed the decision by a court in Turkey yesterday to release journalist Erol Önderoğlu from prison...

BAKU, 30 June 2016 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, met with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov during his visit to Baku today as part of his official trip to the South Caucasus and had a phone conversation with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. During the talks Steinmeier underlined the OSCE Chairmanship’s resolve to contribute to moving the settlement process forward...

SARAJEVO, 30 June 2016- The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office on Gender Issues Ambassador Melanne Verveer is to visit the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) from 1 to 4 July 2016, where she will meet with officials and activists and discuss the status of women in the country...

YEREVAN, 30 June 2016 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on a visit to Yerevan from 29 to 30 June as part of his official trip to the South Caucasus, urged progress towards a sustainable and peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He stressed the OSCE Chairmanship’s resolve to contribute to moving the settlement process forward...

TBILISI, 30 June 2016 – Held under the theme “25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue,” the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 2016 Annual Session will begin Friday in Tbilisi, Georgia, with keynote speeches by Georgian Speaker of Parliament David Usupashvili, Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland), and OSCE Chairman-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier...

In Donetsk region the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations compared to the previous reporting period, with most of the fighting recorded in Avdiivka and Svitlodarsk. In Luhansk region the SMM continued to note a calm situation with two single shots of small-arms fire recorded. It monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable recovery of the bodies of “DPR” members in Sakhanka. The SMM conducted crater analysis in Donetsk, Dokuchaievsk and Rumiantseve. It continued to observe the withdrawal of weapons. The SMM continued to monitor the situation of civilians at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line. It facilitated repairs to essential infrastructure in Trokhizbenka, near Gagarin mine, Krasnyi Lyman, and in Pryshyb. It observed the presence of explosive remnants of war. The SMM did not encounter any specific restrictions to its freedom of movement...