Slovak FM Lajčák: Ability to Listen Is Key to Effective Multilateralism
Sharing his views on topics ranging from the crisis in Ukraine and the role of women in peace processes to the changing role of the UN, Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák of Slovakia said that the key ingredient to a successful multilateralism is “the ability to listen to each other, the kind of listening when you understand even if you might...
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) to hold a news briefing in Kyiv
KYIV, 15 February 2015 – The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) will hold a news briefing today in Kyiv. Alexander Hug, the Deputy Chief Monitor of the SMM, will talk about situation on the ground and Mission’s activities. Journalists are invited to attend the news briefing today, 15 February, at 15:00 hrs (Kyiv time), at the...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), as of 18:00hrs, 13 February
This report is for media and the general public. The SMM continued to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum and the work of the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination (JCCC). The SMM assessed damage from shelling in Donetsk and Luhansk cities. On 13 February, the SMM visited the residential area of...
Statement by the Trilateral Contact Group on consultations held on 14 February 2015
Kyiv, 14 February 2015 – Following the recent summit meeting in the Normandy Format in Minsk, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), consisting of senior representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, today, 14 February 2015, held a round of consultations in the form of a video-conference with...
Russian students to Ukrainian students: “We respect your choice, we condemn the war”
On the day that concluded the peace talks in Minsk, students from Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, recorded their own message to the students of Ukraine. This video, produced in collaboration with Open Russia, is a response to the message from Ukrainian students to Russian students posted at the end of January 2015. …read more Source:...
Capitulation in Minsk
Last week I tried to imagine Vladimir Putin’s endgame in Ukraine: exactly what objectives was he after in waging war on his neighbor? Then, on Monday, as peace talks in Minsk were bruited about, I wrote that, given a confluence of powerful ideological, domestic political and geostrategic imperatives, only a complete fulfillment of the...
Sanctioning Russia: the right questions
Sanctions are often considered to be effective only if and when they force a change in the behaviour of their intended target. This approach is based on military logic, as sanctioning is considered a form of coercive diplomacy. This is, however, a simplistic way of approaching the matter. Whereas the results of direct military involvement are...
The Disturbing Legacy of the Ukraine Crisis
The new Minsk agreement will not necessarily prevent further escalation, but it might postpone it. The world should work hard to make sure that the truce does not founder, leading to a broader war. …read more Source: Carnegie Endowment for International...
Ukraine Fighting Continues As Truce Nears; Minsk Host Says Coffee, Cheese Helped Fuel Talks
Plus, Kosovo minister wants EU to stanch flow of asylum-seeking migrants, and Bulgaria is under fire over juvenile prison conditions. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Still together, but apart? Kyiv’s policy towards the Donbas
2015-02-06Tadeusz IwańskiThe Ukrainian government has launched a series of actions to adapt the country to the de facto loss of control over part of the Donbas. …read more Source: Centre for Eastern...
