Ertugrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), today welcomed the recommitment to the ceasefire made by the Trilateral Contact Group and other signatories of the Minsk agreements on December 20.

According to a press release of OSCE SMM issued on Friday, Apakan said the recommitment, which was made in Minsk on 20 December, should in the spirit of the season lead to comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire, starting at 00:00 on 23 December.

"There is an opportunity to end the violence and human suffering, allowing people to resume their normal everyday lives, especially over the holiday season," he said.

"If underpinned by withdrawal of weapons and disengagement and made in good faith, this recommitment to the ceasefire holds the promise of a more peaceful new year for the people of eastern Ukraine," said Apakan.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission will continue to monitor and verify compliance.