OSCE human rights chief raises concerns over Savchenko verdict, calling for release
WARSAW, 22 March 2016 ─ Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), expressed concerns today over the conviction by a Russian court of Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian air-force pilot, for complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists in June 2014. “Amidst serious disputes over the...
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Steinmeier and OSCE Secretary General Zannier express strongest condemnation of Brussels terror attacks
BERLIN/VIENNA, 22 March 2016 – OSCE Chairperson‑in‑Office, Federal Foreign Minister Frank‑Walter Steinmeier and OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier condemned today’s terrorist attacks in Brussels in strongest terms and offered their heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the Belgian people and Government, and wished...
Big Rise In Number of Russian Living In Poverty
Nearly 20 million people are now eking out a living on wages which are below the poverty line, latest state statistics show. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Don’t Mess With Kyiv’s Activists
Ukrainians may soon be granted visa-free travel within the European Union, thanks to Kyiv’s watchful activists. But that status was in jeopardy after parliament weakened a key anti-corruption law on February 16. Visa-free travel was linked to a series of reforms, including a law that discloses the income of Ukrainian officials. …read...
Russia And China Compete In New Central Asia Great Game
China’s ambitions for the region are reported to cause concern in Moscow that its diplomatic influence in an area once part of the Soviet Union may be receding. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Presentation “Audit of Foreign Policy: Ukraine-US”
On March 29, the Institute of World Policy is going to present a research “Audit of Foreign Policy: Ukraine-U.S.”. …read more Source: Institute of World...
Two scenarios for Ukraine after Putin’s withdrawal from Syria
In his column on the website Segodnia, Co-director of Foreign Relations and International Security Programmes of the Razumkov Centre Oleksiy Melnyk described the two possible scenarios for Donbas after the withdrawal of part of the Russian troops from Syria. Putin surprised everyone again. His decision on the withdrawal from Syria is a complete...
It’s Time to Sharpen NATO’s ‘Spearhead’ Force
Funding issues and decision-making challenges may render obsolete NATO’s “spearhead” force, which was set up in response to Russia’s military aggression along its eastern flank. This is another critical gap for NATO given Russia’s ramped up pressure on Eastern Europe, a move that has many Alliance officials even more worried...
Ukrainian Media Speculate That Akhmetov, Boyko May Head Rebel-Occupied Provinces
Two years since Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Moscow’s initiation of the war in Donbas, the peace process in Ukraine is at a standstill. Moreover, there are fears that after a pullout from Syria, Moscow may mount a new offensive in Ukraine (Segodnya.ua, March 18). On the other hand, if Moscow decides to back away from all-out...
Attack in Grozny on Member of Presidential Council Forces Kremlin Response
On March 16, a well-known human rights activist, Igor Kalyapin, who heads the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, was attacked in Grozny, Chechnya. Soon after Kalyapin’s arrival in Grozny, the administration of the hotel where he was staying asked him to leave the premises. After the rights activist stepped out of the hotel, a mob...
