OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Special Rep in Ukraine and in Trilateral Contact Group on start of disengagement from agreed area at Stanytsia Luhanska

KYIV, 26 June 2019 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press:

“I sincerely welcome the start of the process of the disengagement of forces and hardware at Stanytsia Luhanska.

Let me express my deep appreciation to the sides for having taken the necessary decisions for this important development. I urge them to take all the efforts for completing this process successfully.

My profound gratitude also goes to the staff of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine and personally to the Chief Monitor, Ambassador Yaşar Halit Çevik, as well as his deputy, Mark Etherington, for their active involvement in the disengagement process.

I hope that the successful implementation of this operation at Stanytsia Luhanska will serve as a catalyst for further steps towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the east of Ukraine, and, in particular, a recommitment to a robust, sustainable and permanent ceasefire.”