A nation on the brink: Ukraine faces its own demons
While combat continues in Eastern Ukraine, a perhaps more important battle for the soul of Ukraine is playing out in the political corridors and the corporate boardrooms of Kyiv. Since independence, Ukraine has struggled continuously to break the iron triangle of oligarchic rule, corruption, and financial instability that has left Ukraine mired...
OSCE PA’s human rights chair criticizes Russia’s targeting of Sakharov Center
COPENHAGEN, 24 March 2015 – The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today criticized the continued official targeting of civil society organizations in Russia, exemplified by the fine levied against the Sakharov Center this week. “The...
OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Deputy Chief Monitor to visit southeast Ukraine
KYIV, 24 March 2015 – Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine Alexander Hug will travel to southeast Ukraine on 25 and 26 March to assess the security situation, encourage parties to de-escalate tensions, and facilitate access of the SMM monitors to the east of Shyrokyne. Over the next two days he will visit...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 23 March 2015
The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations* – observed that fighting continued in areas around the Donetsk airport and Shyrokyne, east of Mariupol. The SMM monitored* the...
Bellwether Balkan Fish at Risk from Dams, Gagauzia Strengthens Ties to Moscow
Plus, a new twist in Albania’s political murder scandal, and experts say China is outpacing Russia in the 21st-century ‘great game.’ …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Russia’s Policy Toolbox
The current diplomatic disconnect between Russia and US-EU is monumental. Having returned from the Munich Security Conference former German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger stated at the Hertie School of Governance, “Trust between the two sides is virtually at zero.” With the recent crisis in Ukraine it is vital that the Atlantic community assess...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 22 March 2015
This report is for media and the general public. The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations* – observed that fighting continued in areas around the Donetsk airport and...
Congress Demands War in Ukraine!
US military vehicles in military exercises near Russia’s border this week.Just weeks after a European-brokered ceasefire greatly reduced the violence in Ukraine, the US House of Representatives today takes a big step toward re-igniting — and expanding — the bloody civil war.A Resolution, “Calling on the President to...
Financing a New Ukraine
Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko discusses her country’s economy, including its ambitious reform agenda and recent International Monetary Fund package. …read more Source: Council on Foreign...
OSCE Chairperson Dačić urges sides to respect ceasefire in southeast Ukraine
BELGRADE, 23 March 2015 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić today expressed his concern over an increase in fighting in southeast Ukraine and urged all sides to respect the ceasefire. “An outbreak of heavy fighting east of Mariupol over the last two days is unacceptable. I call on all parties to strictly...
