OSCE PA President Ranko Krivokapic (left) meets German Bundestag President Prof. Norbert Lammert on 6 June. (courtesy Deutscher Bundestag/Achim Melde) COPENHAGEN, 6 June 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic has completed a visit to Berlin, where Ukraine mediation efforts topped the agenda in talks with the President of the German Bundestag and other parliamentary and government leaders. Krivokapic met with Bundestag

OSCE PA Secretary General Spencer Oliver (left) addresses members of Italy's Delegation to the PA in the Italian Parliament as Delegation Head Paolo Romani looks on, 5 June. COPENHAGEN, 6 June 2014 – On the invitation of Senator Paolo Romani of Italy, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Spencer Oliver visited Rome this week for meetings with the Italian Delegation to the PA. Oliver addressed the Delegation in the Italian Parliament

COPENHAGEN, 28 May 2014 – Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, today deplored the sentencing of rights defender Anar Mammadli by a Baku court to 5 ½ years in prison. "The Azerbaijani government's systematic targeting of civil society has reached a new low with the sentencing of Anar Mammadli. I fear that Mr. Mammadli's only crime may have

OSCE parliamentarians spread out across Ukraine on election day amid intense press interest in their work. COPENHAGEN, 27 May 2014 – Former OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Joao Soares (MP, Portugal) and PA Vice-President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) led OSCE observers for the 25 May presidential election in Ukraine. Soares, appointed by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter as Special Co-ordinator of the observation mission, led

Joao Soares (MP, Portugal), the Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission, is interviewed in a polling station in Kyiv, 25 May. KYIV, 26 May 2014 – The 25 May early presidential election in Ukraine was characterized by high turnout and a clear resolve by the authorities to hold what was a genuine election largely in line with international commitments and that respected fundamental freedoms, despite the hostile security

KYIV, 23 May 2014 – Joao Soares (MP, Portugal), the Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE's short-term observation mission for Ukraine's presidential election, has arrived in Kyiv alongside fellow parliamentarians ahead of the 25 May vote. Soares, a former President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, was designated by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter in March to lead the more than 1,000 observers from the OSCE PA and the OSCE/ODIHR for