OSCE urges Russia and Ukraine to break stalemate
691 views · Published 12 December 2018 · 3:58 · Indexed 17 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(7 Dec 2018) The ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ended on Friday in Milan, with no developments in the Russia-Ukraine standoff. At a news conference, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger urged Russia and Ukraine to "break the political stalemate and work to fully implement the Minsk agreement." Greminger said he had spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a bilateral meeting and conveyed such message, also urging him to renew efforts to resolve the crisis in the region. But he added "it is with great sadness that we observe the continuing conflict in Eastern Ukraine amid ongoing military activity and a very bleak humanitarian situation." The incoming 2019 OSCE Chairperson-in-office and Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said that despite the impasse on the situation the OSCE meeting had exceeded his expectations, lauding the organisation for being a platform to discuss such issues. "No one says it's easy, there are different versions and different visions of the world but we are sitting here in one room at one table and we are discussing this" said Lajcak responding to criticisms about the effective achievements of OSCE. Italy's Foreign Minister and OSCE 2018 CiO Enzo Moavero Milanesi said the meeting had one positive outcome, the signing of a joint declaration by Armenia and Azerbaijan about the Nagorno-Karabackh conflict. A formal draft declaration with the conclusions of the meeting is expected later on Friday. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/23d45951ccd472e05aa58741657c6143
