12:24 29.08.2014

US ambassador to OSCE blames Moscow for escalating tensions in Ukraine, demands it stop supporting separatists

2 min read
US ambassador to OSCE blames Moscow for escalating tensions in Ukraine, demands it stop supporting separatists

U.S. Representative to the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Ambassador Daniel Baer, said during the meeting in Vienna that Russia is continuing to escalate tensions in Ukraine.

"Despite the international community's calls for peace, Russia continues to escalate tensions with activity that is extremely dangerous and provocative," he said.

The US envoy to the OSCE said that in the last 24 hours there had been "mounting reports of large numbers of Russian military personnel inside Ukraine, columns of Russian tanks and armored vehicles crossing into southeastern Ukraine."

"These indicate that a new Russian escalation, including a Russia-directed counteroffensive, may be underway in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts - actions that are in clear violation of international law and OSCE principles and commitments," he said.

"If Russia is serious about peace, or sincerely cares about the humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine, it must stop supporting violence through the flow of weapons, personnel, and materiel across the border," Baer added.

He said that Moscow's denial that it is destabilizing Ukraine is offensive and absurd, given the overwhelming and mounting body of evidence.

Besides, Baer said that any humanitarian aid for Ukraine from Russia must be agreed with the authorities in Kyiv.

Moreover, the U.S. ambassador proposed to increase the size of the OSCE mission up to 500 persons for a better response to the Ukraine crisis.

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