Swiss Chairperson-in-Office assures President-elect of OSCE’s continuing commitment to de-escalation in Ukraine

Bern, 30 May, 2014 - Swiss Foreign Minister and Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, Didier Burkhalter, in a phone call with President-elect of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, personally assured him of the OSCE’s continuing commitment to support Ukraine in finding adequate solutions to the crisis.   Burkhalter, who accepted the invitation by Poroshenko to come to Kyiv for his inauguration ceremony and for political consultations, was pleased to learn about Poroshenko’s appreciation for the engagement of the OSCE and the Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and for the Swiss Chairmanship’s efforts of fostering dialogue with all sides.   The two leaders discussed next steps in the implementation of the various de-escalation measures, with Burkhalter stressing the importance of the Ukraine-led and -owned process of a Dialogue of National Unity. He confirmed that the OSCE was also ready to assist in building up a program aiming at the disarmament of illegally armed groups and individuals.   Burkhalter signaled his concerns regarding the deteriorating security situation in the eastern part of Ukraine and said that detentions of SMM staff would  restrict the SMM’s ability of  carrying out its tasks. This was unacceptable, Burkhalter continued, and thanked Poroshenko for the support of the Ukrainian authorities in working towards the immediate and unconditional release of the detained SMM staff.