Azay Guliyev (left) and Ambassador György Szabo meet with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, 30 August 2016, Astana ASTANA, 30 August 2016 – Following his address Monday at the international conference “Building a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World” in Astana, Kazakhstan, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Azay Guliyev (MP, Azerbaijan) met today with the Chairmen of the Senate and Majlis of the

COPENHAGEN, 27 August 2016 – The forced commitment to a psychiatric clinic of Ilmi Umerov represents a worrying new low in Russia’s stigmatization of the Crimean Tatar community and should be immediately reversed, said the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's human rights committee, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain) today. “Already facing charges for simply having the courage to speak his mind, Russian authorities are now using an old and

COPENHAGEN, 21 August 2016 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) issued the following statement in response to an apparent terrorist attack that has killed at least 50 people in Gaziantep, Turkey, Saturday night. "I am deeply saddened by this horrific attack, the latest in a dreadful series of terrorist bombings to have struck Turkey. My heart goes out to those affected, and I offer my sincere condolences to

OSCE PA delegation (left) meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, 16 August 2016 ANKARA, 17 August 2016 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria), is leading a high-level delegation to Turkey following the attempted coup of 15 July. In meetings with the President, Speaker of Parliament, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and other officials, the delegation has expressed the solidarity of the

COPENHAGEN, 15 August 2016 – A high-level delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will be Ankara on 16-17 August to discuss the 15 July coup attempt and its aftermath. The delegation will be led by OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen (MP, Austria) and is planning to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahmaran, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The programme also

COPENHAGEN, 12 August 2016 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary election in Belarus and provide leadership for the OSCE’s short-term observer mission. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Frank-Walter Steinmeier has appointed Kent Harstedt (MP, Sweden) as Special Co-ordinator to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission for the 11 September vote. Ivana Dobesova (MP, Czech Republic) will serve as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary