Ceasefire registered near Mariupol, forces must withdraw from Shyrokyne – OSCE SMM

11:58, 26.03.2015 1 min read

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) has visited Novoazovsk, Mariupol and Shyrokyne, Donetsk region, and has confirmed that the ceasefire is being upheld there, the Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE SMM Alexander Hug said.

He said that during mission's patrolling, when it drove to Novoazovsk and back to Mariupol, both sides adhered by the ceasefire and no shelling was recorded.

Hug said during a briefing in Kyiv that the joint patrol together with the demarcation line control center is the first step in deescalating the situation in this zone.

However, Hug said that the monitors had not had access to Novoazovsk since November 2014, and that the patrols must be performed daily as the "ceasefire must be observed completely."

He called to the involved parties to withdraw their forces and weapons from Shyrokyne.