Tag: OSCE

German sanctions against Russia voted on pure speculation

A German parliamentarian, who is also chairman of the German Defense Committee and former member of the Yugoslavian OCSE, says the German government had no idea whether MH17 was actually shot down.

Alexander Neu, during an interview for Rossiya Segodnya, also spoke about Germany’s proclaimed neutrality in its involvement in Ukraine.

Neu requested a deputy’s inquest from the German government concerning the Boeing which was shot down over Ukraine on September 6.

The reply has now been released to the public.

It was clear from the reply that, firstly,  the German government had no idea whether MH17 was actually shot down. Secondly, if it had been shot down, the government couldn’t answer who the responsible party was.

The Hague published its first interim report from the Dutch Safety Board two days later and it was announced that the plane was hit by a missile, but again it was not said by whom.

The territory where the plane’s debris fell was hit by mass shelling from Kiev’s artillery, rendering it highly unlikely that any new evidence would be found.

The conversations between the pilots and the dispatchers has also still not been released.

The German media however unanimously blamed Russia and, incredibly, it was on the basis of pure speculation that sanctions were leveled against the Russian Federation, since it is now certain that the Germans had no knowledge of who might have been responsible.

Neu also wonders why crucial information is not being released from the black boxes.

Andrej Hunko, another German member of parliament, asked the OSCE in Vienna recently whether the organization had appealed to the German government for German drone support.

The OSCE replied stating that they asked neither the German nor the French government for support via drones. In fact, they wanted no military support from these countries whatsoever.

When the German Defense Minister Von der Leien was confronted with these lies at a meeting of the parliamentary defense committee, Ms. Von der Leien repeated that the OSCE had asked for support, but she would give no specifics.

In other words, von der Leien is pushing the drones, even though the OSCE had not specifically asked for them.

Germany, France and the European Union, as well as the members of NATO are a part of the conflict, supporting the Kiev regime with instructors and intelligence assistance, and are not neutral observers.

Switzerland, the chairman of the OSCE, provides drones and so does Austria, since these countries are neutral.

German military, Austrian drones to Ukraine on OSCE mission

German Defense Ministry sent a team of 14 German military men to Ukraine to observe, in cooperation with French experts, the use of Austrian drones in the eastern part of the country. It goes about the use of unarmed drones for intelligence purposes. The team will also analyze collected information, The Local said.

The team is a mission of OSCE observers to monitor the implementation of the cease-fire agreement.

Reconnaissance drones Luna can fly at altitudes of up to 5,000 meters for six hours non-stop. The UAVs will track the movement of troops in the south-eastern region of Ukraine and receive information on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement by the militia.

“Emphasis will be put on airborne surveillance resources,” a German military man said.

The German mission to establish facts of maintenance of truce will be located in an uncontested area near the People’s Republic of Luhansk, some 30 kilometers far from the border with Russia, for three to five days. The unarmed team will wear OSCE uniforms.

After six hours of nighttime talks on Friday in the Belarussian capital Minsk the Contact Group on Ukraine has signed a memorandum on measures to implement the ceasefire agreement, concluded in principle on September 5.

As Ukraine’s former president, Leonid Kuchma, said after the talks the memorandum implied “the termination of the use of weapons is considered comprehensive.”

Also, he said that under the document the conflicting parties’ forces should be left at their positions they were holding as at September 19, and a ban on the use of all weapons and offensive operations effected within 24 hours.

“The memorandum also requires the pullout of all weapons with a calibre of more than 100 millimeters to a distance of no less than 15 kilometres on each side,” Kuchma said.

The memorandum also imposes a ban on planting mines, flights by combat aviation and drones except for OSCE aircraft.

Meanwhile the Ukrainian military carried out an attack on a military plant in Donetsk. Smoke hangs over the 107th military factory and explosions are still heard. The locals said that there were ammunition supplies stored in the factory.

The Ukrainian forces conducted a round of shelling on Donetsk early on Saturday. The Ukrainian Army is said to be carrying out attacks from the village of Khanzhonkovo. According to several witness reports, many residential buildings were destroyed.

Swiss share Russian concern over nuclear in Ukraine

Swiss President and Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE Didier Burkhalter shared Russia’s concern over nuclear security due to US intention to supply nuclear fuel to Ukraine and urged Moscow to address the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“We share your opinion regarding the nuclear security problem. Nuclear security represents a key problem for the Swiss nuclear policy,” Burkhalter wrote in a letter to Vladimir Gutenev, first deputy chairman of Russia’s State Duma committee on industry.

In June, Gutenev sent Burkhalter a letter, warning him about the potential threat to the security of European countries in the case of man-made disasters at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants in light of the intention of the current Kiev authorities to sign an agreement on fuel supply from the United States.

The IAEA plans a diplomatic conference at the beginning of next year. The Swiss president reminded that his country had proposed to introduce changes to The Convention on Nuclear Safety and said he would welcome Russia’s help in the preparation of the conference of the IAEA, the keeper of the Convention.

He said, however, the specific issue of US supplies to Ukraine needed to be addressed by the Ukraine’s national security first.

Burkhalter added that the nuclear security was out of the authority of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, but could be reviewed by the IAEA board.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow must be informed of every attempt by Ukraine to use Western nuclear fuel in Soviet- and Russian-made reactors, referring to US company Westinghouse seeking to seize more contracts in Europe, including Ukraine.

Russia, Switzerland mark 200 years of diplomatic ties

ruskiswissRussia and Switzerland on Thursday mark the 200th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. On this occasion, the two countries’ foreign ministers exchanged congratulatory messages, where they reiterated their commitment to further development of bilateral cooperation in various areas and further political contacts, including top-level contacts.

“The jubilee is a good occasion to look back at the path our countries have travelled, to recall the common historic past and try to analyze its lessons, to draw intermediate results of cooperation and outline plans for the future,” Dmitry Lyubinsky, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Third European Department, told Itar-Tass. “It is important that both we and our partners are looking at the future of the Russian-Swiss relations with optimism.”

On February 22 (March 6), 1814, Russian diplomat Count Ivan Antonovich Kapodistria presented his credentials as the Russian Ambassador to Switzerland. A year after that, the Vienna congress proclaimed the Russian Empire as one of the guarantee powers for permanent Swiss neutrality. Thus, Russia made its contribution to the structure of Switzerland’s political system, thanks to which Switzerland avoided disastrous wars of the 19th and 20th centuries.

“I cannot say that everything was always smooth in our relations,” Lyubinsky went on. “The murder of Russian diplomat Vorovsky in Lausanne in 1923 and subsequent acquittal of the killer by the jury lead to the severance of diplomatic relations, which were resumed only in March 1946. Ever since, bilateral cooperation has only been growing and now we have reliable and promising partners in Switzerland in all areas of cooperation.”

Moscow is set for constructive cooperation with Bern over the period of the latter’s presidency in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2014. Strengthening of the OSCE’s role and enhancing its authority in international affairs meets the interests of both countries. Increased attention should be focused on problems stemming from transnational threats, on protection of the interests on national minorities, on counteracting extremism, and on OSCE reforms. It is important to exert more effort to promote the Helsinki Plus 40 process in order to draft a conceptual strategic document on principles of cooperation and security in Europe by the anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act in 2015.

The Russian-Swiss relations have reached a qualitatively new level in the recent years. A milestone event in bilateral relations was the first-ever visit by the Russian president to Switzerland in September 2009. The visit gave an extra impetus to closer cooperation in all areas, including the sphere of high technologies and innovation. Close contacts are maintained by the foreign ministries of the two countries. In 2007, they signed a joint memorandum on closer cooperation. The documents provides for consultations on a wide range of international and bilateral issues. In 2013 alone, the two countries’ foreign ministers and top-ranking foreign ministry officials had more than 20 such rounds. Russian and Swiss foreign ministers have annual meetings, including on the sidelines of various international events. Russian-Swiss summit meetings have become a regular practice in the recent years.

Source: TASS