News and press releases

VIENNA, 6 June 2017- Reacting to the decision of the Abkhaz “military prosecutor’s office” to quit criminal prosecution in the case of the murder of Georgian citizen Giga Otkhozoria on 19 May 2016, announced at the 46th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in Gali on 31 May 2017, a spokesperson of the OSCE Chairmanship said today...

Some 35 students from the five Central Asian countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan will attend an OSCE-supported annual summer school in Almaty from 5 June to 16 June 2017 on methods and tools for assessing and monitoring water and land resources in the Central Asian region...

VIENNA, 6 June 2017 – Senior officials from capital cities across the OSCE region and Vienna-based ambassadors of OSCE participating States met today in Vienna as part of the latest round of the OSCE Structured Dialogue on current and future security challenges, this time focusing on trends and developments in military force postures, exercises and how they interrelate with threat perceptions and military doctrines...

An art exhibition supported by the OSCE Presence in Albania is on show at the Fine Arts Gallery (FAB) in Tirana from 5 June 2017 to 12 June 2017 featuring the best entries submitted to the OSCE Presence by students of the Tirana University Faculty of Fine Arts on the themes of ‘Radicalization’ and ‘Dealing with the past’...

Between the evenings of 2 and 3 June the Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 3 and 4 June the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region, compared with the previous 24-hour period. The Mission followed up on civilian casualties in Kurakhove and Yasynuvata. The SMM observed damage to civilian houses and critical infrastructure. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere. An SMM mini unmanned aerial vehicle spotted anti-tank mines near Pervomaisk inside the Zolote disengagement area and signs of additional reinforcement to government positions in the Stanytsia Luhansk disengagement area. It visited three border areas not controlled by the Government. The SMM monitored events in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk involving religious communities...

COPENHAGEN, 4 June 2017 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) issued a statement of condemnation and condolences following an attack in London Saturday night being investigated as an act of terrorism. At least seven people died and 48 were injured when a vehicle plowed into pedestrians on London Bridge, followed by three attackers stabbing restaurant- and pub-goers at nearby Borough Market...

VIENNA, 4 June 2017 – The targeting of innocent civilians in indiscriminate acts of violence is unacceptable and never justified, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz and OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier today following the terrorist attacks in London. They offered their condolences to the families of victims and wished a quick recovery to the injured...