Ukraine has implemented 97% of EU’s visa-free requirements

Belgian newspaper EUobserver reported that Ukraine has implemented 97% of the EU’s requirements for the establishment of a visa-free regime. EUobserver listed key reforms introduced by Ukraine that helped move the country towards visa-free access to the EU, including the creation of  agencies and offices such as the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the National Agency on the Prevention of Corruption, and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Similarly, the adoption of two laws regarding the …


Ukraine asks for greater OSCE involvement in Crimea

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is conducting negotiations aimed to expand the mandate of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe observer mission to widely operate in every area of the Donbass region. Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin explained this objective last Tuesday during his report on the year-end results of the Ministry’s activities.

"Let's see what role the OSCE mission can take.  The mission must have access to …


OSCE Notes Lack of Progress on the Political Settlement in Donbas

According to Martin Sajdik, the special contact group on the Donbas issues will continue to discuss the opportunity to hold local elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics on December 9th.  Sajdik, the special representative of the OSCE Chairman discussed the matter while speaking about the last meeting results of the trilateral contact group on December 8th in Minsk.

The Belarusian Private News Agency (BelaPAN) quoted Sajdik as saying that "despite significant efforts and …


Turkey Expels Russian Propagandists

Russian News Agency TASS reported that according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Moscow has condemned the actions of Turkish authorities in expelling the film crew of TV channel “Russia 1.”

On December 7th, ”special correspondents” of the TV channel "Russia-1" were detained near the border with Syria, Hatay province in Southeast Turkey, while travelling to the neighboring province of Gaziantep.

The Ministry claims that the detention was carried out by unknown …


Poland looking for access to NATO nuclear weapons to neutralize Russia

Deputy Defence Minister, Tomasz Szatkowski, stated that Poland’s Ministry of National Defense will request that the US place nuclear weapons in the country to aid its self-defense. The corresponding request will be made through NATO’s so-called Nuclear Sharing program, which allows non-nuclear alliance members to request nuclear weapons from other NATO countries. A military official explained that the final decision on the request hasn’t been made yet and it is currently being discussed at the …