OSCE SMM says conflict parties need to pull further back from contact line

18:03, 19.05.2016 1 min read

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) says that the parties to the conflict in Ukraine's east should withdraw their forces further back from the conflict line, which will greatly enhance the security in Donbas.

"Unpredictability is driven, in general, by non-compliance with the Minsk agreements. Specifically, it is driven by the dangerous proximity of the sides in key locations along the contact line," Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE SMM Alexander Hug said at a briefing on Thursday.

He noted that the number of violations of the ceasefire decreased. However, he said violence in the hostilities zone continues in violation of the Minsk agreements.

"It underlined for me that there is no security in the so-called security zone as long as the sides refuse to disengage and withdraw their guns," Hug said.

Most violence in Luhansk region was recorded in Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Popasna. If the violence were to stop there, the crossing route in the latter could be finally opened, and people in the former could cross in safety, he said.