Summary by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter of the first day of discussions at the OSCE Ministerial Council
BASEL, Switzerland, 5 December 2014 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter summarized the discussions of the first day at the OSCE 21st Ministerial Council in Basel, noting that OSCE Foreign Ministers are meeting against the backdrop of one of the worst crises in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian area since...
Commemorative Publication marks 20 years of key OSCE document on promoting democratic control of armed and security forces
BASEL, Switzerland, 5 December 2014 – Didier Burkhalter, Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office presented a Commemorative Publication on 20 years of the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security to the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier at a special event held today during the 21st OSCE Ministerial...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 3 December 2014.
This update is provided for the media and the public 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). In particular, it was informed that talks were held in Donetsk between Russian and Ukrainian military officers attached to...
Online Freedom Slips in Russia, Ukraine; Kyiv Announces Another Cease-Fire
Plus, Hungary protests McCain’s ‘dictator’ comment and a green kitty turns heads in Bulgaria. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
The Grozny Attacks and Russia’s Relationship with the West
One of the most important consequences of the dramatic violence in Grozny may be the impact it has on Russia-Western relations. Amidst a stand-off with the West over Ukraine, the Kremlin may interpret this terrorist acts as “Western attempts to fuel instability inside Russia.” …read more Source: Carnegie Endowment for International...
Clinton’s stock declining in futures market
Is the market in Hillary Clinton futures collapsing? Quite possibly so.A year ago Clinton seemed likely to become the next president. Presumably she and her husband had not yet started to call themselves, Bush style, 42 and 45. But she had an overwhelming lead in the polls for the Democratic nomination and was getting 50 percent or more in most...
Another negotiation in Donbas proves that Russia is a party to the conflict
Ukrainian military officers and militants of the LPR group agreed on a ceasefire, starting on 5 December, according to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, informs the news agency Radio Liberty. On Radio Liberty, Co-director of Foreign Relations and International Security Programmes of the Razumkov Centre Oleksiy Melnyk referred to the...
Ukraine: The crisis, the people and a global conflict
The disputes in and around Ukraine can be found in the daily headlines. The conflict’s effects can also be felt in Germany. But it is difficult to get a clear picture of where exactly the interests of the different parties lie. The political context is one side of the medal; the question about the situation of the people in Ukraine is the...
Moldovan Parliamentary Elections: What Happened?
With most of the votes counted from the November 30 parliamentary elections, pro-EU parties hold a narrow lead, but it remains unclear what government they will be able to form. With conflict in neighboring Ukraine, close scrutiny from Russia, and EU soul-searching, what is now in store for Moldova’s EU ambitions? Oana Serafim, the director...
Ukraine Picks Foreign Economic Chiefs, Balkans Dissect Cancelled South Stream Project
Plus, Mongolia relaunches a big coal mining tender, and a report claims Russia could start filtering the Internet at levels never before seen. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
