News and press releases

PARIS, 16 January 2019- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) hosted consultations between Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on 16 January in Paris. The Co-Chairs met separately and then jointly with the Ministers. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated in these meetings. This was the fourth meeting of the two Ministers.

VIENNA, 16 January 2019 – Switzerland aims to bring a new perspective to established and current politico-military issues, said the State Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Pascale Baeriswyl, as she opened the country’s Chairmanship of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) in Vienna today. Baeriswyl added that Switzerland will engage in dedicated discussions and constructive debates to achieve more confidence and transparency on politico-military issues amongst all 57 OSCE participating States...

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 was 9,000 at both BCPs. It was not possible to compare the data regarding persons crossing the border to the previous reporting period, as no information regarding this category was provided to the OM...

Compared with the previous 24 hours, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Chermalyk, Donetsk region and close to SMM patrols in Popasna and Kriakivka, Luhansk region. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area and an armoured combat vehicle in the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk regions as well as to enable the removal of an unexploded ordnance in Kriakivka, Luhansk region. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at two border crossing points with the Russian Federation near Izvaryne and Sievernyi...

Compared with the previous reporting period, between the evenings of 11 and 12 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region. Between the evenings of 12 and 13 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, compared with the previous 24 hours. Small arms were fired in the direction of an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle near Chermalyk, Donetsk region. Small-arms fire damaged a house in a residential area of Chermalyk. The SMM recorded ceasefire violations inside the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Donetsk region. Participants of a gathering in Kherson demanded the release of a Crimean Tatar activist reportedly detained in Simferopol. Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas. The SMM was also restricted at a railway station in Voznesenivka, an area near the border with the Russian Federation...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • The SMM recorded ceasefire violations and saw military presence and anti-aircraft guns inside the Zolote disengagement area. It recorded ceasefire violations near the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. • The Mission observed weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure in Luhansk region. • In Kyiv, the Mission monitored a protest during which protestors expressed views critical of veterans and of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs. • In Zhytomyr, the SMM monitored a court hearing of a journalist accused of involvement in anti-state activities. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued in all three disengagement areas.*...

• Compared with the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region. • The SMM followed up on reports of three civilians injured near Vasylivka as the result of an explosion and three civilians who reportedly died of heart attacks while at a checkpoint in Horlivka. • The SMM recorded ceasefire violations in the Zolote disengagement area and near the Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote disengagement areas. • The Mission continued to observe hardships faced by civilians at checkpoints along the contact line related to inclement weather and long wait times. • The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to the ceasefire to enable repair works to essential civilian infrastructure on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. • The SMM followed up on reports of a fire at a church in Rzhyshchiv, Kyiv region. • The SMM observed a peaceful public gathering in Kherson. • Restrictions of the Mission’s access continued, including in all three disengagement areas. An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle was targeted by small-arms fire while flying near Popasna.*