News and press releases

COPENHAGEN, 12 October 2020 – Some 100 election observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will deploy later this month to the United States for the 3 November general elections. They will work with about 40 long-term observers and experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights who are already in the country and deliver a joint assessment following election day. The mission will mark the eighth time the PA has observed the vote in the U.S. since 2004...

Summary The SMM recorded 26 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and eight in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded four ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska,

Moscow, 10 October 2020- The Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) welcome the joint announcement by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Armenian Foreign Minister Zorab Mnatsakanyan, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a humanitarian ceasefire and call on the sides to execute their commitments in full.

VIENNA/TIRANA, 10 October 2020 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Albania’s Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama, welcomed news of a humanitarian ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict context. “We need stability, both on the ground and in the process led by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs,” Rama said. “The agreement reached in Moscow overnight by Armenia and Azerbaijan puts us on the path towards the resumption of substantive negotiations in the agreed format,” Rama added.

Twenty rescuers of Tajikistan’s Committee of Emergency Situation and Civil Defence completed a four-week training course on 10 October 2020 to improve their skills on conducting field-based emergency response operations in challenging conditions, which they commonly face while performing their duties. The course funded by the European Union was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe in co-operation with the Committee...

Summary The SMM recorded four ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and none in Luhansk region. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 36 ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and two in Luhansk region. A man died due to the detonation of an explosive object in Obozne, Luhansk region. The

VIENNA/TIRANA, 9 October 2020 – The Albanian Chairmanship has issued a call for unity in Kyrgyzstan, noting its concern with the worsening situation. “We call on all political leaders and on the citizens of Kyrgyzstan to refrain from violence and act in the interest of maintaining stability in the country.”