RUSSIALINK: “A Week of Russia-West Diplomacy Ends in Deadlock” – Moscow Times

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The latest round of talks concluded, there is some disagreement about whether Putin’s December threat of a “military-technical solution” to the Ukraine crisis is probable or even inevitable […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Suggests Military Deployment to Venezuela, Cuba if Tensions With U.S. Remain High” – WSJ

File Photo of Wendy Sherman and Sergei Ryabkov Standing In Front of U.S. and Russian Flags, adapted from image at state.gov

“Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybakov said Moscow couldn’t exclude sending ‘military infrastructure’ to the two countries as tensions with U.S. soar and says talks have stalled.” “… Ryabkov said Thursday that Moscow couldn’t exclude dispatching ‘military infrastructure’ to Venezuela or Cuba if tensions with Washington — which have soared in recent weeks over a huge buildup of Russian troops on […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Biegun Says U.S. Sees No Indication of Russian Military Plans in Belarus” – Reuters

Cropped File Photo of Stephen Biegun, adapted from image featured at state.gov

“Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun [was in Lithuania,] signal[ing] a greater U.S. role … trying to settle … strife … erupt[ing] when Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko cracked down on peaceful protesters … reject[ing] his claim of a landslide election victory [claiming it was rigged]. … Asked about possible Russian military intervention … [Biegun] said: ‘Of course that would be […]

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As Soldiers Disengage, ‘Fragile Hope’ For Peace Appears In One Front-Line Ukrainian Town

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(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Christopher Miller – STANYTSYA LUHANSKA, Ukraine, July 18, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/as-soldiers-disengage-fragile-hope-for-peace-appears-in-one-front-line-ukrainian-town/30062713.html) Beyond the series of checkpoints manned by armed guards with bomb-sniffing dogs in this battle-scarred town lies a mile-long stretch of no man’s land that’s one of most dangerous places in Ukraine. […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia, Ukraine Agree [to] ‘Comprehensive’ Cease-Fire in Donbass” – Moscow Times

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 18, 2019) Russia, Ukraine and Europe’s top security body have announced an “indefinite” ceasefire in eastern Ukraine that analysts hail as a substantial step toward ending the five-year conflict. The war between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region has killed 13,000 people since it broke out in 2014. Sporadic fighting […]

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‘No Place for Russia’: How Much Are Old U.S. Ambitions in Europe to Blame for Russia-West Tensions Today?

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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Joshua Shifrinson – January 3, 2019) Joshua Shifrinson is an assistant professor of international relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. [Article also appeared at: russiamatters.org/analysis/no-place-russia-how-much-are-old-us-ambitions-europe-blame-russia-west-tensions-today]   BOOK REVIEW “No Place for Russia: European Security Institutions Since 1989” By William H. Hill Columbia University Press, August 2018 [Amazon: https://amzn.to/2AwEbkW] Why have relations […]

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William Hill: “New Book: No Place for Russia: European Security Institutions Since 1989”

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Subject: New Book: No Place for Russia: European Security Institutions Since 1989 Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2018 From: William Hill <williamhhill@gmail.com> I believe the following will be of interest to many of your readers, and would be grateful if you could include it in JRL. As of today (August 14, 2018) my new book — William H. Hill, No Place […]

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Interfax: OSCE concerned by rise in Donbas shelling after New Year lull

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DONETSK. Jan 23 (Interfax) – The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has recorded an increase in ceasefire violations in Donbas after some lull over the New Year holiday period, Alexander Hug, Alexander Hug, first deputy head of the OSCe Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OSCE SMM), said. During the holiday period, the OSCE registered a minor decrease […]

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Interfax: OSCE sees tangible progress in Transdniestrian settlement

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CHISINAU. Nov 28 (Interfax) – The recent agreements between Chisinau and the unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic, including the one to open for traffic a bridge destroyed 25 years ago and rebuilt in 2000, are signs of constructive interaction between the conflicting sides, the OSCE said in a statement. A two-day round of the official Transdniestrian settlement talks in the 5+2 […]

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Interfax: Moscow says Malorossiya idea far from “real politics”

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(Interfax – July 19, 2017) The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that Ukrainian separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko’s plan to establish a new state in Ukraine – “Malorossiya” – has nothing to do with real politics. “In my view, these statements do not go in line with the obligations the sides [of the conflict] had taken as part of the Minsk […]

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Putin Aims to Undermine Western Democracies With Election Meddling, Experts Say

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

(Voice of America – voanews.com – Ken Bredemeier – March 9, 2017) WASHINGTON – Russian President Vladimir Putin is single-handedly trying to undermine democracy in the United States and Europe and rupture their decades-old NATO alliance by meddling in their elections, foreign affairs analysts and Estonia’s former president told a congressional hearing Thursday in Washington. One of the experts, Peter […]

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Lift Russian Sanctions for ‘Positive Developments’ in Ukraine – OSCE Chair

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 9, 2017) Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz has called on European leaders to begin lifting sanctions against Russia in exchange for “any positive development” in the Ukrainian crisis. Kurz, a politician for the Austrian People’s Party, claimed that the change in policy would “send a clear signal to Russia.” “My concept is clear. I […]

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Moscow’s Disinformation Efforts Move Far beyond Mere Lying and Obfuscation

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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, September 1, 2016) Most Western discussions about countering Russian disinformation have focused exclusively on unmasking the ever-growing number of lies and other formers of obfuscation Russian government propagandists and their surrogates are putting out and identifying the chief sources of such duplicity. But it is important to recognize and then think about […]

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Video cameras mounted near Shyrokyne for OSCE round-the-clock monitoring in conflict area

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KYIV. Jan 12 (Interfax) – Modern video surveillance cameras, which will help Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors conduct round-the-clock monitoring and record shellings in the populated area of Shyrokyne in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, have been installed, the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. “On January 12, modern video monitoring cameras, which will […]

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DPR, LPR obstructing verification of withdrawn armaments – OSCE mission

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KYIV. Oct 29 (Interfax) – Representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics are obstructing the access of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) monitors to weapon storage sites, Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said. The OSCE SMM continues to monitor the withdrawal of artillery pieces with calibers under 100mm and mortars with calibers under 120mm and to […]

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Interfax: LPR promises to pull back artillery guns after OSCE confirms Ukrainian tanks withdrawal

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MOSCOW. Oct 6 (Interfax) – The militia of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic will begin the pullback of artillery systems immediately after the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) confirms the end of the pullback of tanks by the Ukrainian military, the LPR people’s militsiya headquarters told Interfax on Tuesday. “It is needed to wait until the Ukrainian […]

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Interfax: OSCE SMM reports weapons pullback in Donbass in line with Minsk accords

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(Interfax – October 5, 2015) The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) reports the process of pulling back weapons from the dividing line in Donbass in compliance with the Minsk agreements. In the districts controlled by the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR) the monitors have noticed the withdrawal of 30 main combat tanks (T-64 […]

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U.S. Envoy Tells Russia’s Neighbors: Having Putin As Your Only Friend Not A Good Idea

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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Pete Baumgartner – PRAGUE, September 15, 2015) The U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says there is a very important lesson for former Soviet republics to have learned from the devastating conflict in eastern Ukraine: Don’t be too reliant on Russia. “Having [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin as your only friend […]

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Ukraine War Risks Reigniting as OSCE Warns of Troop Buildup

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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Kateryna Choursina, Aliaksandr Kudrytski – July 28, 2015) The battle readiness of Ukraine’s military and the rebels it’s fighting in the country’s east is at its highest level since a February truce, monitors warned, a situation that risks tipping the conflict back into war. After more than a year of fighting, sides are fortifying positions and […]

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Interfax: Ukraine starts water supplies to Luhansk Republic

Faucet and Water Drop

LUHANSK. June 10 (Interfax) – A week after the authorities of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) complained to the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ukraine has agreed to partially resume water supplies to the republic, says Alexander Drobot, head of the LPR Reconstruction Management Center (RMC). “The OSCE did not […]

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Kyiv denies shelling Donetsk

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KYIV. May 3 (Interfax) – Kyiv on Sunday denied allegations by Moscow that Ukrainian heavy artillery has been shelling Donetsk. “Any use of weapons by units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, if it takes place, is purely and simply a forced response to armed provocations from illegal armed units that are active in individual districts and is made in […]

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Ministers propose to bolster OSCE mission in Ukraine at Paris meeting

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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Timofeichev, RBTH – February 25, 2015) At a meeting in Paris on Feb. 24 the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France proposed extending the OSCE’s mandate in eastern Ukraine and strengthen its mission to monitor the implementation of the Minsk peace agreements. Russian observers view the results of the meeting […]

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Interfax: OSCE reports escalation of gunfire in eastern Ukraine but says trend may be reversed

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(Interfax – January 15, 2015) The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has acknowledged escalation of gunfire exchanges between the militia and the army in southeastern Ukraine but thinks the truce has not been disrupted, Russian Envoy to the OSCE Andrei Kelin said. “What is going on [in southeastern Ukraine] is the extremely unpleasant and dangerous significant escalation […]

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Interfax: Moscow concerned by Kyiv’s intention to blockade Donbas – Russian envoy to OSCE

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MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) – Moscow is concerned about the Kyiv authorities’ steps toward turning a separating line in the southeastern part of Ukraine into a line of blockade against Donbas, Russia’s envoy to the OSCE Andrei Kelin said. “I want to stress that we absolutely don’t view this [separating] line as some borderline. We are really concerned by the […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian envoy berates OSCE for doing “nothing” about Ukrainian troop movement

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(RIA Novosti – Vienna, November 10, 2014) There is no information on the movement of the armed forces of Ukraine in the conflict zone in the east of the country not only in the openly published but also in the full reports of the OSCE monitoring mission, to which Russia has drawn the organization’s attention specially, Andrey Kelin, Russia’s permanent […]

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RIA Novosti: Senior Russian diplomat pleased with OSCE mission in Ukraine

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(RIA Novosti – October 1, 2014) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksey Meshkov has said that the OSCE mission’s reports on the situation in Ukraine have become more objective, the Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported on 1 October. “The mission’s work has become much more balanced, which, on the one hand, has made their reports more objective, but on the […]

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Interfax: OSCE mission in Ukraine may be increased to 500 observers – Russian envoy to OSCE

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MOSCOW. Sept 5 (Interfax) – The OSCE intends to increase the number of its observers in Ukraine to 500, which may be enough for monitoring a ceasefire observance in eastern Ukraine, in the nearest future, Russian permanent envoy to the OSCE Andrei Kelin said. “We will begin recruiting in the nearest future. We may increase the mission [in Ukraine] to […]

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RIA Novosti: OSCE Spokesman Says Wrong to Call Ukraine’s Independence Supporters ‘Separatists’

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MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) – Spokesperson for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Michael Bociurkiw said Wednesday he believes it is not correct to refer to the independence supporters in eastern Ukraine fighting against government forces as “separatists.” “Well, usually we use the term ‘rebel groups’ or groups opposed to the government. It’s quite a neutral term. There […]

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RIA Novosti: OSCE Monitors Inspect Train with Bodies of MH17 Air Crash Victims

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TOREZ (Ukraine), July 20 (RIA Novosti) – Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have arrived at the railway station near the crash site of the downed Malaysia Airlines jet to inspect the train that is due to transport the victims’ bodies to Donetsk, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports on the ground. Leonid Baranov, a senior […]

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RIA Novosti: All Passengers’ Belongings Safe in Place of Malaysia Airlines Plane Crash – OSCE

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MOSCOW, July 19 (RIA Novosti) – The belongings of the passengers killed in a Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 crash in eastern Ukraine have been safely preserved, a representative of the special mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine, Michael Bochurkiv, said Saturday, adding that no distortion by the militia in the region has been noted. […]

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RIA Novosti: Moscow Ready for International Monitoring on Border With Ukraine

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MOSCOW, July 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russia agrees to international monitoring of its border with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, said Thursday. “The Russian side is ready for monitoring on the Russian-Ukrainian border, ready to accept Ukrainian border guards in Russia’s Gukovo and Donetsk checkpoints on the border between the two states. But, naturally, it is possible only […]

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RIA Novosti: Lavrov Says West Must Influence Kiev to Implement OSCE Road Map

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BELGRADE, June 17 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev has completely refused to implement the road map elaborated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the West must influence the Ukrainian authorities to resolve the situation in the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. “Unfortunately, the Ukrainian authorities are so far refusing to support the road […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia Urges New OSCE Envoy to Ukraine to Engage in Reconciliation Efforts

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MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) new envoy to Ukraine should actively engage in reconciliation efforts and promote dialogue, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday. The ministry reiterated Russia’s support for the OSCE Ukrainian conflict settlement roadmap, based on the April 17 Geneva agreements. “We assume that Heidi Tagliavini will actively […]

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RIA Novosti: Kiev’s Use of Heavy Weapons in Crackdown Violates International Law – Russia

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VIENNA, June 5 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow has raised the issue of Kiev using heavy armaments in its special operations against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine at OSCE session, Russia’s envoy Andrei Kelin said on Wednesday. “The punitive operation led by Ukrainian forces reflects signs of an international human rights violation, in particular, of the Geneva convention of 1949,” Kelin […]

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Interfax: ODIHR/OSCE praises Ukrainian election, awaits vote counting completion before June 7

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KYIV. May 26 (Interfax) – The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (ODIHR/OSCE) has praised the way the voting process was organized in Ukraine and hopes the vote counting will be completed before June 7. We shall stay here until all the results have been counted and all complaints considered, […]

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Interfax: Russia will evaluate Ukrainian elections based on OSCE mission monitoring – Lavrov

Sergei Lavrov file photo

ST. PETERSBURG. May 23 (Interfax) – Russia will evaluate the upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine based on the monitoring conducted by the OSCE mission and using modern technologies, but will not send its monitors due to the absence of safety guarantees, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. “It’s very easy in our age of electronic mass media,” Lavrov told reporters […]

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OSCE officers held in Slovyansk were treated well – head of Ukrainian group of OSCE military mission

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KYIV. May 3 (Interfax) – The OSCE military inspectors held in Slovyansk were treated well and their captors tried to find out what tasks they were fulfilling in the eastern regions of Ukraine, Colonel Ihor Turanskiy, the head of the Ukrainian group of the OSCE military mission and the head of the Verification Department of the Ukrainian General Staff, said. […]

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RIA Novosti: OSCE Military Observers at Ukraine-Russia Border – Kiev’s Security Service

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KIEV, April 24 (RIA Novosti) – A group of OSCE military observers is present at a Ukrainian checkpoint at the border with Russia that is surrounded by federalization supporters, the press center of the Ukrainian Security Service said Thursday. “An inspection team of OSCE military observers has been working on the site of the Luhansk border detachment over the past […]

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Interfax: Daily activities by Russian troops on their national territory pose no threat to U.S., OSCE countries – Russian Foreign Ministry

Russian Foreign Ministry Building Tower file photo

MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) – Russia is not conducting any unusual or unplanned military activities on its territory in the area of the Ukrainian border, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “The U.S. and Ukraine have no reasons for concerns. Russia has said many times that it is not conducting any unusual or unplanned activities significant in terms of military issues […]

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Interfax: U.S. to continue search for Ukraine resolution with UN, EU, OSCE, Russia – diplomat

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ASTANA. Apr 1 (Interfax) – The only way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis lies through diplomacy and defusing of military tensions in the region, United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal said. Today the world is watching the events in Ukraine with great concern. The U.S. and the international community advocate the […]

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Russia says close to agreement on OSCE monitors for Ukraine

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Reuters reports on statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is close to reaching an arrangement to send observers to Ukraine: ‘We have already practically agreed a draft decision’ on an observer mission, Lavrov told President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks, adding that observers would be sent to western and central […]

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Diplomats Discuss Future of OSCE at Conference

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – June 19, 2013) VIENNA ­ Diplomats at a conference organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe all agreed Tuesday that international organizations were vital in helping to overcome the Cold War spirit that still besets relations across the East-West divide, but they were unable to provide any clear answers […]

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OSCE in need of renewal – Lavrov

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MOSCOW. Jan 18 (Interfax) – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe must get rid of imbalances and double standards by 2015, becoming a fully-fledged international organization with its own charter, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “Russia sees the Helsinki + 40 initiative as an important step that aims to launch the process of the OSCE’s renewal and […]

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