12:29 29.01.2018

Kyiv unhappy with refusal to extend OSCE mission's mandate to border section in occupied Donbas

2 min read
Kyiv unhappy with refusal to extend OSCE mission's mandate to border section in occupied Donbas

The OSCE Permanent Council has extended the mandate of the OSCE Observer Mission at two Russian checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk, but it did not extend the mission's mandate to the border section adjacent to the temporarily uncontrolled territory of Donbas, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported on Friday, January 26.

According to the report, the mandate of the OSCE Observer Mission at two Russian checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk was extended at the 1173rd meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on January 25, which the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry supports.

However, the Foreign Ministry expresses its deep disappointment with the position by Russia, which again blocked the extension of the mission's mandate to the entire section of the border adjacent to the territory of Donbas temporarily beyond the control of the Ukrainian government.

The ministry sees this as isolation of Russia in its reluctance to ensure effective international control at the border.

"Such actions testify to the intention of the Kremlin to continue supplying heavy weapons, military equipment, regular troops, mercenaries, and support terrorist activities in Ukraine. In this connection, joining the consensus on the decision, Ukraine's delegation in the OSCE delivered a relevant interpretative statement," the report says.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on Russia to strictly fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreements, in particular, the provisions of paragraph 4 of the Minsk Protocol of September 5, 2014 on establishing control and constant monitoring of the OSCE over the temporarily uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian state border, the creation of a security zone along the border from the side of Russia, which is critical for de-escalation of the situation and the peaceful settlement in Donbas.

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