News and press releases

NEW YORK CITY, 23 September 2017 – The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) met separately and then jointly with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, and the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, on 22-23 September on the margins of the UN General Assembly. The Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk....

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote, and Petrivske, and recorded ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere, including in Siedove and Olenivka. The SMM saw multiple launch rocket systems in violation of withdrawal lines near Poltavka. An SMM unmanned aerial vehicle spotted near Myrne, an area outside government control in Luhansk region, a large number of tanks and artillery pieces, as well as other hardware, which appeared to be well-maintained, refurbished and loaded with ammunition. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of the thermal power plant in Shchastia and water pipelines in Zolote. It continued to monitor the situation of schools and kindergartens near the contact line on both sides. The SMM continued to monitor a gathering in Kyiv....

VIENNA, 23 September 2017 – “Brutal killing of an American-Syrian journalist and her mother, both reporting about the situation in Syria, highlights the dangers that critical journalists face in their work,” said today OSCE Media Freedom Representative Harlem Désir...

VIENNA, 22 September 2017 –The release from house arrest of Mykola Semena, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has been noted by OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir, who however condemned the conviction and imposition of a ban on “public activities”.

Tashkent, 22 September 2017 – A two-day Sub-regional Conference on the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in regional and international security began today in Tashkent.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period and more in Luhansk region. The Mission observed damage to residences in Chervonyi Yar in Luhansk region and Bohdanivka in Donetsk region due to shelling. The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote, and Petrivske, and recorded ceasefire violations near the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three areas and elsewhere. Staff in schools near the contact line in non-government-controlled areas told the SMM they had been ordered not to speak with the SMM. The Mission facilitated and monitored repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure near Shchastia, Zolote, Artema, Krasnyi Lyman, and Stanytsia Luhanska. The SMM visited a border area not under government control. The Mission monitored two gatherings in Kyiv and followed up on reports of an explosion in Uman...

ULAANBAATAR, 22 September 2017 – A two-day national workshop, followed by a series of bilateral consultations on Cross-Border Co-operation against Corruption and Money Laundering, between officials from Mongolia and international experts from the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office and Interpol, concluded today in Ulaanbaatar.