15:43 29.07.2016

Sustained ceasefire prerequisite for police mission deployment in Donbas – U.S. ambassador to OSCE

1 min read
Sustained ceasefire prerequisite for police mission deployment in Donbas – U.S. ambassador to OSCE

U.S. Permanent Representative to the OSCE Daniel B. Baer has said that stable ceasefire in Donbas is a prerequisite for consideration of the possibility of deploying an international police mission there.

Speaking during a press conference on Friday, Baer said that after the ceasefire is achieved they need to assess how they can ensure continued security in order to hold free and fair elections there.

He noted that the elections in Donbas envisaged in the Minsk agreements should be carried out only if there are proper security conditions.

Baer added that the current mandate of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE says that it is a civil mission with unarmed observers and so it should remain.

One option, which is discussed, is a police mission, the deployment of the security forces of a certain kind, while the SMM will continue to be an unarmed mission, the U.S. permanent representative to the OSCE said.

According to Baer, they currently needed to focus primarily on the achievement of a sustainable ceasefire in Donbas, which is a prerequisite for any other steps to resolve the conflict.

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