News and press releases

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk, including 209 explosions compared with 63 in the previous reporting period, with most of them concentrated in the Avdiivka-Yasynuvata area. In Luhansk region the SMM recorded ten explosions compared with 29 in the previous reporting period. The Mission monitored two border areas currently not under government control. The SMM encountered restrictions to its freedom of movement, including in the disengagement areas near Petrivske and Zolote, and noted a calm situation in the wider Petrivske area. The SMM continued to monitor the anti-mayor protest in Odessa and observed a blockade at the Uzhhorod border crossing point...

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region, including 63 explosions compared with 126 in the previous reporting period. Most of the recorded ceasefire violations occurred in the area of Yasynuvata-Avdiivka. The Mission recorded more ceasefire violations in Luhansk region (29 explosions compared with six). The SMM continued to observe the presence of weapons in violation of the respective withdrawal lines, including four multiple-launch rocket systems (Grad) near Ivanivka, and followed up on the presence of mines near populated areas. The SMM observed damages caused to houses and infrastructure in Nyzhnoteple. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repair works to essential infrastructure in Luhansk region. The SMM encountered restrictions to its freedom of movement including in disengagement areas near Petrivske and Zolote, and noted a calm situation in the wider Petrivske area...

NEW YORK, 23 September 2016 –“We are committed to the OSCE’s inclusive, civilian and comprehensive approach covering the entire conflict cycle: from early warning and prevention through crisis management to post-conflict peacebuilding,” OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stressed at a high-level event on “The Force of Civilian Crisis Management – Strengthening the Capacities of the OSCE as a Chapter VIII Organization” that took place on the margins of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on 22 September 2016...

COPENHAGEN, 23 September 2016 – In one week, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 15th Autumn Meeting will open in Skopje with addresses by host officials including Speaker of Parliament Trajko Veljanoski and Vice-President Renata Deskoska. The opening session will also feature remarks by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) and a special address by Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, followed by a debate...

On 22 September 2016 at 06:25hrs (Moscow time), a Russian convoy arrived at the Donetsk Border Crossing Point (BCP). A total of 33 vehicles were checked by the Russian border guards and customs services prior to them crossing into Ukraine. All of the 33 vehicles had crossed back into the Russian Federation by 14:40hrs on 22 September.

New York, 22 September 2016- The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France, as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, met separately with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly to continue discussions on a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

VIENNA, 22 September 2016 – At the invitation of the German Federal Foreign Office, eleven young diplomats from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iran today visited the OSCE in Vienna in order to gain better knowledge and understanding of the world’s largest regional security organization and meet representatives of the German OSCE Chairmanship and of the OSCE Secretariat. Prior to their visit, the group attended a day-long OSCE workshop in Berlin. Turkmenistan is an OSCE participating State while Afghanistan is an OSCE Asian Partner for Co-operation...