News and press releases

An OSCE-supported meeting of the Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic on the Use of Water Management Facilities of Intergovernmental Status on the Rivers Chu and Talas (Intergovernmental Commission) took place on 14 March 2019 in Taraz, Kazakhstan...

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and a similar number of ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission saw anti-tank mines for the first time near Novoselivka, Shyroka Balka, as well as in an area between Marinka and Oleksandrivka. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repairs to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. Its access was also restricted in Verkhnoshyrokivske and at a heavy weapons holding area in a non-government-controlled area of Donetsk region.*

A team of election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Hungary from 12 to 14 March 2019 to present the final report of ODIHR’s limited election observation mission for the  parliamentary elections held in April last

VIENNA, 14 March 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed the bringing of criminal charges against Marian K., an alleged instigator of the murder of the Slovak investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnirova. The alleged instigator had previously threatened the reporter.

YEREVAN, 13 March 2019 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák emphasized the importance of creating perspectives for peace during his visit to Armenia today. He welcomed the commitment to reforms and discussed the ongoing work and next steps in the negotiations for a peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the OSCE’s longstanding engagement with and in Armenia.

MINSK, 13 March 2019 – 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 13 March 2019

Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Gunfire was directed at two SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicles near Pervomaiske and Manuilivka, Donetsk region. The Mission recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines in non-government-controlled areas in Donetsk region. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk region. Restrictions of the SMM’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. Its access was also restricted in Oleksandrivske and at a checkpoint near Novoazovsk, both in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region...