OSCE Chief Monitor in Ukraine urges all sides to allow monitors to carry out duties safely

KYIV, 15 September, 2014 – Chief Monitor of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan today urged all sides to allow monitors to carry out their duties and verification of the ceasefire regime safely after a series of incidents which put their lives at serious risk.

Apakan said that on the evening of 14 September, vehicles of an SMM patrol monitoring the east of Donetsk, consistent with its duties under the Protocol, were struck by artillery fragments. Fortunately no one was injured in the incident.

“We profoundly regret the fact that our teams were substantially endangered during the course of their agreed monitoring mission. This is entirely unacceptable,” said Apakan.

He reminded all sides that the SMM is tasked in the provisions of the Minsk Protocol of 5 September with ensuring monitoring and verification of the ceasefire regime. He said that teams operating in Donetsk and Luhansk have reported a series of breaches of these provisions, and that they have increased in the last 48 hours.

“We call on all sides to abide by the ceasefire commitment as agreed in Minsk, and to allow for full monitoring of the implementation of this regime. The SMM is determined to continue its mission, as mandated by the OSCE’s 57 participating States. In this regard, activities of the SMM in the eastern region of Ukraine will continue.”