Special Monitoring Mission

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu on Monday had a meeting in Vienna with the Secretary General of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Thomas Greminger, in which context he pleaded for an increased presence of the Romanian experts in leadership positions at the OSCE, informs a release sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) to AGERPRES.

Ambassador Halit Çevik has been appointed as Turkey's candidate for chief monitor of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine following a selection process from among six candidates.

Secretary of State with Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) George Ciamba on Tuesday welcomed ambassador Marcel Pesko, Director of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Conflict Prevention Center, to reconfirm Romania's decision to remain an active OSCE member.

Photo: RIA Novosti

Ukrainian security forces continue to place weapons and military equipment along the contact line in Donbass, which is prohibited by the Minsk agreements, Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) militia spokesman Andrei Marochko said Saturday.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said yesterday one of its staff was killed after an observer mission patrol vehicle hit a landmine in rebel-held east Ukraine.

It marked the first loss for the security body's Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine since Europe's only war began more than three years ago.

It has been more than three years since Ukrainians gathered at Maidan Square in Kyiv on the night of Nov. 21, 2013, to demand closer integration with Europe and the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will pay a visit to Ukraine on Feb. 9 and 10 on the occasion of the fifth meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group, a Foreign Ministry statement said on Feb. 8. 

Çavuşoğlu and his Ukrainian counterpart, Pavlo Klimkin, will review all dimensions of bilateral relations and discuss new cooperation opportunities, the statement said.

In a statement of its spokesperson, the European External Action Service (EEAS) noted on Tuesday that the renewed escalation of violence in Ukraine violated the spirit and letter of the Minsk ceasefire.

The EU refers to the latest attacks on several areas controlled by the government near Starohnativka on Monday and Tuesday.

Ukraine's truce monitors reported July 28 coming under "targeted" fire in the past few days in incidents that have forced them to review future operations in the war-torn state.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic condemned on Thursday the latest surge in violence in Ukraine and called for restraint and abstention from the use of force.