Weekly Update from the OSCE Observer Mission at Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk based on information as of 10:00hrs (Moscow time), 02 June 2015
SUMMARY Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both BCPs. The overall cross-border traffic increased at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). DETAIL OM’s staff composition The OM is currently operating with 21 staff members, consisting of 19 permanent international observers (incl. the...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 19:30 (Kyiv time), 1 June 2015
This report is provided for the media and the general public. The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by third parties and security considerations *. The SMM observed continuing ceasefire violations in and around Donetsk airport; Luhansk region...
National human rights institutions should support each other across borders, particularly in crisis situations, say participants at OSCE Seminar
WARSAW, 1 June 2015 – More than 100 representatives of governments, international organizations and civil society met to discuss the role of national human rights institutions in promoting and protecting individual human rights at the three-day OSCE Human Dimension Seminar, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 19:30 (Kyiv time), 31 May 2015
This report is provided for the media and the general public. The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by third parties and security considerations*. The SMM continued to observe a significant number of ceasefire violations in and around Donetsk...
Saakashvili Named Governor of Odessa, Tajik Top Cop Defects to IS
Plus, Russian TV revises history of 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion, and scientists are helpless against mass die-off of Central Asia’s endangered antelopes. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Europe’s Seven Deadly Sins
Or, seven reasons why Europe gets the Russia-Ukraine crisis wrong. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Misha Takes Over Odessa
The sensational appointment of Mikheil Saakashvili to run Odessa will shake up both Ukraine and Georgia. …read more Source: Carnegie Endowment for International...
Restless in Odessa
For the Ukrainian Government, the EU summit in Riga, Latvia, last Friday was a bitter pill. EU leaders dashed hopes for fast a track to Ukraine’s membership. Kiev received non-committal promises about a visa liberalisation program and pledges of €1.8 billion in loans (national debt has almost reached 100% of GDP). But even this is dependent...
Why an EU-Turkey Customs Union Upgrade is Good for Turkey
Introduction The European Union (EU) and the Turkish government have decided to work toward upgrading their Customs Union.[1] The decision comes at a time when two major U.S.-led projects, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), are slowly but surely progressing. The Obama administration...
The Indispensable Partner? Turkey in the Evolving Triangulation with the United States and Europe
Introduction Despite recent questions surrounding its allegiance to Western defense, and the continuing cynicism accompanying an elusive EU membership quest, Turkey remains in important respects an indispensable partner of the United States and the EU in a strategically relevant region. Discussions at the 11th meeting of the Trilateral Strategy...
