Eoghan Murphy, OSCE Special Co-ordinator, looks on as the Head of the OSCE PA delegation Roberto Battelli answers questions at the post-election press conference in Sofia, 13 May. SOFIA, 13 May 2013 – Bulgaria's early parliamentary elections on 12 May were held in a competitive environment, fundamental freedoms were respected, and the administration of elections was well managed, although the campaign was overshadowed by a number of incidents

Isabel Santos addresses the media freedom conference in Warsaw, 13 May 2013. (OSCE/ODIHR Piotr Markowski) WARSAW, 13 May 2013 – Governments must protect media freedom online and off to be in line with international commitments and to ensure respect for citizens' fundamental freedoms, the vice-chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's human rights committee said today at the opening of an international media freedom conference. Speaking to an

YEREVAN, 11 May 2013 – After concluding a week-long visit to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on South Caucasus stressed the importance of continuing democratic development and peace building in the region. "The only hope for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh comes down to the political leaders in Armenia and Azerbaijan," Joao Soares said today. "There is no

Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili with OSCE PA delegation. COPENHAGEN, 10 May 2013 – OSCE PA Special Representative on South Caucasus Joao Soares (Portugal) today is in Armenia, the last country in a series of visits he is making to high-level officials throughout the region. Soares was in Georgia earlier in the week joined by PA President Wolfgang Grossruck. In Tbilisi, the PA delegation met with President Mikheil Saakashvili and

Armenia Today 7 May 2013 Нагорно-Карабахский вопрос требует скорейшего решения. Об этом заявил Спецпредставитель Парламентской Ассамблеи ОБСЕ по Южному Кавказу Жоао Суареш в ходе встречи с председателем Милли Медлиса Азербайджана Огтаем Асадовым. Он подчеркнул, что вопрос урегулирования Нагорно-Карабахского конфликта находится в центре постоянного внимания ОБСЕ. Отметив, что ОБСЕ стремится активизировать усилия, направленные на его мирное

News.az 7 May 2013 Vice-speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament Bahar Muradova met with a visiting delegation of the OSCE PA led by the Organization's special representative for the South Caucasus Joao Soares. Muradova said Azerbaijan attaches great importance to cooperation with the OSCE, and is interested in continuation of bilateral ties, AzerTAc reports. The sides noted that the OSCE Minsk Group carries out certain work to solve the