OSCE mission insisting on full access of monitors to Ukrainian-Russian border

16:54, 15.10.2015 1 min read

Members of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE SMM) do not have full access to the entire Ukrainian-Russian border, OSCE SMM spokesman Michael Bociurkiw has said.

The OSCE SMM pointed out in its reports that it had applied to visit the border sector controlled by the DPR but the requests were not granted, he said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, adding that the refusals had been multiple.

The overall length of the Ukrainian-Russian border exceeds 400 kilometers, and various groups may be crossing it anywhere yet the OSCE SMM has access to the border in the LPR-controller territory, he said.

According to Bociurkiw, the access of mission members to the border is limited. He added that he was not aware of the situation of the past two days, but OSCE SMM Chief Monitor Ertugrul Apakan emphasized the need for the unlimited access of mission members to the border, he said.