News and press releases

MINSK, 4 May 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups in Minsk on 4 May 2018:

A joint Afghan-Tajik-Turkmen Regional Border Management Awareness workshop concluded on 4 May 2018 in Dushanbe. The event was hosted by the OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC).

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Bakhmut. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including at one of the four crossing points visited at the border with the Russian Federation in non-government-controlled areas. The SMM observed a weapon in violation of withdrawal lines in Pobeda. The SMM continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station for Voda Donbassa water company employees to keep the station functioning; it heard ceasefire violations in the area despite security guarantees. It also continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka and to the Petrivske pumping station. In Balakliia, the Mission followed up on reports of explosions at an ammunition storage depot. In Vinnytsia, the SMM monitored a gathering of internally displaced persons.

DUSHANBE, 4 May 2018 – Consolidating efforts at the regional and international levels to counter violent extremism and radicalization was the focus of a two-day high-level conference, which concluded today in Dushanbe. The conference, entitled “Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism”, was organized by the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan in co-operation with the OSCE, the United Nations, and the European Union.

COPENHAGEN, 4 May 2018 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is closely following the situation in Armenia and welcomes the active dialogue among political forces, said PA President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) today.

While Cyprus’s legal framework is adequate, overall, for the conduct of democratic elections, it is overly complex. Therefore, a comprehensive review well in advance of the next elections is recommended to further harmonize, clarify, and update electoral legislation, says the final report by the

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and a similar number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission observed fresh damage to civilian properties caused by shelling in Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded a ceasefire violation inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted there as well as at a heavy weapons holding area and a permanent storage site in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Novoselivka. The SMM continued to facilitate access to the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) for Voda Donbassa water company employees; it, again, heard ceasefire violations in the area despite security guarantees. It also continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to high-voltage power lines near Yuzhna-Lomuvatka. In Odessa, the SMM monitored the commemoration of the events that took place on 2 May 2014...