News and press releases

MINSK, 24 January 2018 – Concluding three days of meetings in Belarus, Kent Harstedt (MP, Sweden), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Eastern Europe, called for increased efforts on reforms within the country while welcoming the active engagement of the country in international affairs and mediation...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Zolote disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including near a compound in Donetsk city’s Leninskyi district.* The SMM facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Artema and in Krasnyi Lyman. It visited three border areas outside of government control.

New ways to effectively co-operate in countering hate crimes were the focus of a training course for 25 police officers and prosecutors from Bulgaria, including 13 women and 12 men, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Sofia on 22 and 23 January 2018.

Between the evenings of 19 and 20 January, the SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. Between the evenings of 20 and 21 January, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous 24 hours. The SMM saw two men with bullet wounds near a bus station close to a checkpoint near Olenivka. It continued to monitor the situation of civilians at entry-exit checkpoints. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere. Near non-government-controlled Sakhanka, the SMM was verbally assaulted by a visibly intoxicated.* The SMM saw weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM visited three border areas outside of government control.

VIENNA, 22 January 2018 – The role of digital economy as a driver for innovation, competitiveness and growth are the focus of this year’s first Preparatory Meeting of the 26th OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum, which opened today in Vienna.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and more in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area. The SMM’s access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including at a heavy weapons holding area outside of government control.* The SMM saw weapons in violations of the withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The Mission again facilitated and monitored repairs to a fibre optic cable near Shchastia; as a result, mobile telecommunications services were restored in non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. The SMM visited a border area outside of government control. In Dnipro, it followed up on reports of damage to the office building of a political party.

MINSK, 18 January 2018 – 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 18 January 2018:...