Gernot Erler, the Special Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany for Russian policy, noted that the threats to the members of the special OSCE monitoring mission are "unacceptable." Erler reiterated his call for the fulfilment of the Minsk agreements.Reports of observers of the special monitoring mission (SMM) of the OSCE about the increased ceasefire violations in the east of Ukraine, as well as the presence of heavy weapons there "excite concern,” Erler said. "I urge all parties to …

In April, the European Commission intends to propose the introduction of a visa-free policy for Ukrainian citizens, contrary to the results of the referendum in the Netherlands, Reuters reports, citing a source in the leadership of the European Union.

"It may seem that we are ignoring the Dutch voters. However, we should keep our word with Ukraine as they have fulfilled all the conditions," the source said.

For the policy to come into effect, it must be approved by a majority of the member …

According to Polish Radio, Polish Minister of Defense Antoni Macierewicz stated on channel TVP that he is convinced that the current President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, intentionally falsified the report on the tragic plane crash near Smolensk that claimed the life of former Polish President Lech Kaczynski. Tusk was the Prime Minister of Poland at the time of the tragedy in 2010.

"Tusk ensured full control not only over the investigation but also over each claim of the bureaucracy. …

The Head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, Pavel Soloh, stated that the Ukrainian crisis should be the main subject of the forthcoming NATO-Russia meeting, Rosbalt reported.

When Soloh visited Berlin, he noted that Russia violated international law by annexing the territory of another state, which led to an increase of tensions in relations between NATO and Moscow. According to the Head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, the decision on the council meeting was taken only after …

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed deep concern over the deterioration of Nadiya Savchenko’s health after 4 days on a dry hunger strike.

"Ukraine strongly protests that Ukrainian doctors and consular officials are not allowed to visit the Ukrainian pilot, [and] that the Russian political leadership ignores numerous complaints of world leaders, [and] the Ukrainian MFA,  concerning this issue, [as well as the complaints of] human rights organizations and public leaders,” a …

Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, Radio Svoboda reported.

The two camps stated that there were attacks on Friday but no casualties were reported.

According to a statement issued by Azerbaijani authorities on Saturday, the Armenian-backed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh violated the ceasefire 120 times on Friday night. At the same time, Armenia accused the Azerbaijani armed forces of carrying out mortar attacks on their …

Fighting and artillery exchanges continue near Avdiivka, and both sides accuse the other of using artillery banned by the Minsk agreements. The distance between the positions of the separatists and the Ukrainian positions has shrunk to a mere 300 meters.

Both sides admit that the  intensity of the fighting increases when OSCE monitors are not present in the area.

On Saturday a 71 year old woman was hit and killed by a mortar shell while working in her backyard in Avdiivka.

There are …

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev explained the supplies of Russian weapons to Armenia and Azerbaijan, stating that if Moscow abandons these sales, the situation in the region will become more complicated. Medvedev said this during the weekly “Vesti on Saturday” program on April 9th.

“If we imagine for a minute that Russia declined playing this role, we are accurately aware that this place would not be empty,” the Prime Minister stated, meaning that Armenia and Azerbaijan would continue …