News and press releases

MINSK, 2 February 2017 – 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 1 February 2017:...

The SMM noted a significant increase in ceasefire violations recorded in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions and recorded the widespread use of multiple-launch-rocket systems in Avdiivka, Yasynuvata and Horlivka. The number of explosions in Donetsk region was the highest yet recorded by the SMM. While the majority of violations were in the wider area of Avdiivka-Yasynuvata, the SMM recorded hundreds of explosions in different areas of the contact line. The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines and on the move on both sides of the contact line. The Mission monitored the humanitarian situation in Avdiivka, and followed up on reports of civilian casualties and saw damage caused by shelling in Troitske and Novooleksandrivka. The SMM continued monitoring the three disengagement areas in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske but its access remained restricted.* The SMM was denied access to Yasynuvata. The SMM visited border areas currently not under control of the Government. In Kyiv the SMM monitored a protest against the reported arrest in Crimea of a Crimean Tatar lawyer...

MINSK, 1 February 2017- In the area bound by, and including all parts of Donetsk Airport, Avdiivka and Yasynuvata, and also along the whole line of contact, the Trilateral Contact Group, together with the representatives from certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, today calls for:...

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons decreased at both BCPs...

VIENNA 1 February 2017 – The need to modernize the Vienna Document 2011 in order to adapt the agreement to current security challenges and technological change was discussed in the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) in Vienna today.

COPENHAGEN, 1 February 2017 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) today called on all sides to bring an immediate end to the increased hostilities in eastern Ukraine, especially in the Avdiika and Donezk areas..

COPENHAGEN, 1 February 2017 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights and humanitarian committee Chair Ignacio Sanchez Amor today expressed concerns about United States President Donald Trump’s executive order to halt the entry of refugees and the citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries into the United States, noting that this represents a major step backward in the international community’s efforts to develop a cohesive response to the refugee and migrant crisis...