Press Statement of Special Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Sajdik after Meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group on 15 May 2017

MINSK, 15 May 2017 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG ‎and its working groups in Minsk:

The past weekend was one of the deadliest in a very long time for the civilian population living along the line of contact. I want to express my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased and wish the wounded as rapid a recovery as possible.

Once again, in this tragic context, I declare that what happened is absolutely unacceptable. Innocent civilians fell victim to heavy artillery, which should have been withdrawn a long time ago.  

Today, the Working Group on Security resumed its meetings. The participants of the group received information concerning the investigation of an incident that occurred on 23 April, when one OSCE SMM employee was killed and two were hospitalized. This egregious case, as well as a number of other situations, underscores the obligation of all parties to the conflict to respect the mandate of the Mission and, at the same time, to ensure the safety of the Mission’s personnel.

The incident of 23 April was also a reminder of the urgent need for demining. Maps should be provided indicating the locations of mines. These maps are necessary not only for ensuring the safety of the patrolling routes of OSCE SMM monitors, but also for marking and fencing off mined areas in order to protect the local population.

I am happy to inform you of good news in the humanitarian field: the so-called verification mechanism was successfully launched on April 28, right after our last meeting, thanks to the efforts of all participants, the representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk region (CADR) and certain areas of the Luhansk region (CALR), Ukraine, the Office of the Ombudsperson for Human Rights, Valeriya Lutkovskaya, and also the OSCE. As you will remember, this mechanism is intended to confirm the wish of those who are detained or were detained in connection with the conflict regarding their participation (or refusal to participate) in a future exchange.

Consequently, the Working Group on Humanitarian Issues was able to consider the interim results of the initial implementation of the mechanism, which concerned nearly a hundred people. It was also able to begin discussing the next steps towards the full implementation of this mechanism. This work is extremely important not only from the point of view of the Minsk agreements: it is of prime importance to those whom it concerns directly and to their families. I hope that next time I will be able to report that all the outstanding issues regarding the completion of the verification process have been resolved. I am grateful to all who are involved in this process, especially to the Ombudsperson, for their efforts in this direction.

The Working Group on Economic Issues dealt with options regarding how to pay for water supplies to CALR. The participants stressed their desire to find a solution to this matter as soon as possible, in view of the fact that the water supply has still not been resumed.

Finally, the Working Group on Political Issues, during its discussions the agenda of which included the "Steinmeier formula", continued to exchange views on the tasks assigned to it following the meeting of the political advisers to the heads of state and government of the Normandy format, held in Minsk on April 6.