Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

BRUSSELS - The European Commission is watching closely the media situation in Serbia, and is in constant contact with the authorities, ombudsman and representatives of the civil society, Peter Stano, spokesman for EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, said in Brussels on Tuesday.

A pro-Russian rebel leader in Ukraine’s Sloviansk says he is holding captive 4 OSCE observers.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Monday that it had lost contact with one of its monitoring teams in the Donetsk region.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says it has lost a contact with one of its monitoring teams in Ukraine.

Four monitors operating in the southeast of the country have not been accounted for since 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) on Monday, according to the BBC.

The observers performing a routine mission.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says Ukraine's presidential elections have gone in accordance with international norms and standards.

The OSCE election monitors noted that turnout was higher than expected (40%), but pointed out the closure of polling stations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions as serious violations.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called on Ukraine to release two Russian reporters who were detained on Sunday.

The OSCE's representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, has urged Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov to release the Russian reporters who were captured on Sunday, ITAR-TASS reported.

Moscow “respects” the results of the referendums in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine, reports the Russian wire service RIA Novosti, quoting  Kremlin press office. 

No solution to the Ukraine crisis could be reached if authorities do not engage in a dialogue with "opponents of Kiev's regime", Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Monday.

At a press conference, Lavrov stressed the importance of a "national dialogue" in Ukraine based on a proposal by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande warned new sanctions might be approved against Moscow if May 25's Ukrainian presidential poll fails.

European government bonds fell as talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and a senior European official aimed at easing the crisis in Ukraine helped damp demand for safer assets.

The OSCE's Chairman-in-Office and Swiss President Didier Burkhalter has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in Ukraine.