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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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Russian weaponry and mercenaries still pour into eastern Ukraine
Research from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, covering the period from May 16 to Nov. 15 this year, was presented in Geneva on Wednesday.In the report, United Nations blames Russia for its actions in eastern Ukraine and the Crimea, emphasizing the flow of weapons, mercenaries and ammunition from Russia to pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine, that has left the situation there “highly flammable”. "Despite a reduction of fighting in the area over the last few …
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Ukraine called on EU to block new Russian Nord Stream pipeline
At the meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels, Ukrainian Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk called for a halt on the building of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. He also called for the extension of sanctions against Russia and for the beginning of a visa-free policy with the European Union for Ukrainians.
“We think that this project has to be blocked because it serves neither Ukrainian nor EU interests,” Yatsenyuk stated. According to him, the project deprives Ukraine, …