17:39 03.03.2016

Apakan welcomes Contact Group decisions, promises support within OSCE SMM mandate

2 min read
Apakan welcomes Contact Group decisions, promises support within OSCE SMM mandate

The Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ertugrul Apakan, welcomed the decisions on mine action and prohibition of live-fire exercises endorsed in Minsk on Wednesday by the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG).

"The SMM welcomes both decisions and will help support their implementation through monitoring and reporting, in line with its mandate," a report published on the OSCE website on Thursday quoted Apakan as saying.

"The Memorandum, endorsed in Minsk in September 2014, foresees the creation of a security zone of the non-use of weapons. Ukrainians throughout Donetsk and Luhansk regions are very much living in a dangerous, and sometimes fatally dangerous environment," said Apakan.

Apakan also said that these decisions provide a framework for all involved to contribute to safety and security. "The signatories have called for an end to live-fire training and exercises near the contact line, and for steps to reduce the threat still posed by mines, which will also facilitate repair of vital infrastructure. The SMM will support all involved in their efforts towards normalization, and will monitor and report impartially and objectively on progress," he said.

As the coordinator of the TCG's working group on security issues, SMM Chief Monitor Apakan facilitated elaboration of both decisions on March 2, the OSCE said.

The Trilateral Contact Group met on March 2 and signed two documents on normalization along the Donbas contact line.

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