Österreich will sanktionierte russische Diplomaten zur OSZE-Wintertagung im Februar einreisen lassen. Hier ein paar wichtige Fakten: 🧵 1/
derstandard.at/story/20001430… Es stimmt, dass laut OSZE-Amtssitzabkommen Österreich Vertretern aller OSZE-Staaten die Einreise erleichtern soll, die an OSZE-Sitzungen teilnehmen. Hier der Text des Amtssitzabkommens: 2/ parlament.gv.at/dokument/XXVI/…

NEW: Heart wrenching pictures show @OSCE employees Dmitry Shabanov and Maxim Petrov as they are sentenced to 13 years in prison by a sham court in Luhansk for treason - a charge that the OSCE vehemently denies and says is "fabricated." 1/
politico.com/news/2022/09/2… The legal proceedings against Shabanov and Petrov were only launched last week by the so-called “Supreme Court” of the unrecognized Luhansk “people’s republic” in eastern #Ukraine. The court proceedings were held entirely behind closed doors. 2/

Grossi @rafaelmgrossi and his team of 14 experts are back in Vienna from a risky visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Grossi says that he is mostly concerned about the physical integrity of the plant as well as about the power supply of the plant. #ZNPP 1/ He said that he witnessed holes and marks on the plant that are due to the shelling. He said that this situation was "unacceptable". He also expressed worry about the power supply and the impact a disruption could have on the cooling system. These are his 2 main concerns. 2/

Senior EU official on #JCPOA talks: The current talks in Vienna are aimed at closing the text presented by @JosepBorrellF on July 21. The space for negotiation has been exhaused. We are discussing 4-5 "technical issues". We are "fine-tuning" them. #ViennaTalks 1/ On prospect of success: "I think there is a real possibility of having an agreement but it is not going to be easy." The sticking point on the IRGC delisting has been resolved. It has been agreed that it will be discussed in the future once the US and Iran can meet directly. 2/

So, the first conference of the states parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will conclude today in Vienna. After countless statements in support of eliminating nuclear weapons by those states that have ratified the Treaty .. #TPNW1MSP
1/ .. and some more statements by observing NATO countries mostly in support of their commitments under the nuclear alliance, TPNW states parties are set to adopt a political declaration today as well as an action plan. 2/

SCOOP: @OSCE expert mission report finds "clear patterns of international humanitarian law violations by the Russian forces in their conduct of hostilities" in #Ukraine. The report also finds "credible evidence" that "the most fundamental human rights" have been violated. 1/ The 110-page report (above is the executive summary) has been drafted by experts following the invocation of the so-called OSCE Moscow Mechanism by Ukraine & 45 OSCE states on 3 March. The experts were not able to visit #Ukraine but relied on multiple source for its report. 2/

Seems there was no concrete outcome to the visit by Austrian Chancellor Nehammer to Moscow YTD. The visit was an Austrian initiative (nobody asked Austria to get engaged). Here is a summary in POLITICO Playbook politico.eu/newsletter/bru… & a short write-up politico.eu/article/austri… 1/ Putin also evidently did not show any interest in #Austria taking over a mediation role, since the Russian President apparently (according to #Nehammer) expressed repeated support for the Istanbul negotiation process. 2/

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer @karlnehammer just finished a video press conference from the Austrian Embassy in Moscow. He told journalists: "It was important for me to look into his (Putin's) eyes and tell him about the horrors of war and the war crimes in Bucha." 1/ Nehammer also said that he considered it important to create humanitarian corridors so that civilians in the East can flee prior to what he thinks will be a "fierce battle" that we should not "underestimate". 2/

Austrian Foreign Minister @a_schallenberg just gave a live interview on Austrian public TV taking questions on Ukraine. He was asked by anchor @ArminWolf why #Austria has not expelled any Russian diplomats after learning horrendous details about atrocities in #Bucha. 1/ Schallenberg: "I explicitly reserve the right to take this step and expel Russian diplomats if it is proven that there is a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations." (Here is the convention: legal.un.org/ilc/texts/inst…) 2/

Very strong statement by US OSCE Ambo @mikercarpenter at today's special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council convened by @PLinOSCE on the atrocities discovered in the Kyiv liberated region. 1/ osce.usmission.gov/the-russian-fe… Carpenter @USAmbOSCE quotes American writer John Steinbeck: "A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil?” 2/

BREAKING: 45 (out of 57) OSCE participating states just invoked the so-called @OSCE Moscow Mechanism to set up a mission of independent experts to investigate the following in relation with the war in #Ukraine: 1/ - Establish the facts and circumstances surrounding possible contraventions of OSCE commitments and violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law; 2/

Asked about the possibility to drop the outstanding IAEA safeguards probe in #Iran as part of a return to the 2015 #JCPOA, @iaeaorg DG @rafaelmgrossi gave a clear answer at today's presser in Vienna: 1/ "The IAEA will never abandon a process that it launched because of the necessity of clarification of certain situations in Iran because of a political reason. This is not how the IAEA works. I as DG would never do that." 2/

BREAKING NEWS: ⚛️ ‼️
The IAEA Director General @iaeaorg @rafaelmgrossi and the Vice-President and the Head of Atomic Energy Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran just issued this joint statement after today's meeting in Tehran.
THREAD 👇 1/ "In this meeting the parties recalled and reaffirmed the spirit of cooperation and mutual trust and its continuation and emphasized on the necessity of addressing the relevant issues in a constructive atmosphere and exclusively in a technical manner...

⚠️UPDATE from IAEA Spokesperson on the temporary inspections agreement between the IAEA and Iran. (Thread)
"Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi today informed the IAEA Board of Governors about recent developments related to the Agency’s verification and monitoring in Iran." 1/ "In a 17 June letter to the Vice-President of Iran and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, Director General Grossi indicated that the 24 May agreement with Iran would expire on 24 June and said it was essential for the Agency .. 2/