News and press releases

BELGRADE, 2 September 2015 – The ceasefire in eastern Ukraine is one of the key conditions for furthering the political process, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić said today, after a briefing with his Special Representative in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Ambassador Martin Sajdik and the Chief Monitor of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan. OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier also attended the meeting.

Discussion of strategic ideas for re-consolidating European security as a common project was the focus of a one-day workshop organized by the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions, which took place in Vienna on 1 September 2015...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by security considerations*. Few ceasefire violations were recorded, exclusively at or around Donetsk airport. The SMM monitored a peaceful start to the new school year in numerous schools...

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine welcomes the new impetus for peace provided by the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) that the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Martin Sajdik, announced last week in Minsk, said the SMM’s Chief Monitor, Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, today.

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The number of ceasefire violations observed remained at a similar level compared with the previous day in Donetsk. No ceasefire violations were recorded in the Luhansk region. The SMM observed preparations for the start of the school year in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In Kyiv the SMM monitored a protest outside the national Parliament which turned violent...

On 31 August beginning at 09:00hrs, the SMM monitored protests in front of the national Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) building in Kyiv. Some 3,000 persons (male and female of all ages) carrying “Svoboda”, “Radical Party” and “Ukrop” flags were protesting against constitutional amendments that were being voted on inside the Parliament. The event was initially peaceful and orderly with no signs of unrest...

The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The SMM noted a marked decrease in fighting in Donetsk and in Luhansk over 29 and 30 August. On both sides of the contact line the SMM observed schools being repaired in preparation for the start of the school year.