OSCE Chief Monitor calls for end to violence in Ukraine

Kyiv, 3 May 2014 - In the course of the past 24 hours, the situation in eastern and southern Ukraine has deteriorated further. More violence across this region has left many injured and led to dozens of lives lost.

Chief Monitor of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Ertugrul Apakan, deplores and regrets the loss of life in Odessa. He calls upon all sides to exercise maximum restraint and to avoid bloodshed and solve their differences peacefully.

"There is a need for de-escalation," said Apakan. "The Special Monitoring Mission is here to promote this objective. We are here for the people of Ukraine."

The Geneva statement - endorsed by the European Union, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States - established a process with the end goal of de-escalation, with the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission tasked with assisting Ukrainian authorities and local communities in its implementation.