OSCE Chair calls for stopping confrontation in eastern Ukraine

BERN, 13 April 2014 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter today called upon all sides to move the situation away from confrontation and to act responsibly in order to reduce tensions and avoid further violence in eastern Ukraine.

Referring to reports of OSCE monitoring teams from the Special Monitoring Mission on the ground, Burkhalter expressed his concerns over a number of incidents in various parts of the Donetsk Oblast and in Kharkiv.

In the light of recent developments, most notably in Slavjansk where clashes occurred and OSCE monitoring teams are also following the course of events on the ground, the tense situation could spiral in a menacing direction, he said. Therefore, everyone should refrain from actions which might fuel tensions further and trigger hardly controllable dynamics, he continued.

All sides should be aware that the issues at stake cannot be solved through violence, but must be addressed in a democratic and lawful manner in order to find sustainable and lasting solutions, Burkhalter confirmed.

Everyone must respect the state monopoly on the use of force, Burkhalter emphazised; at the same time it is essential that law enforcement ensure a measured and appropriate response, he underlined.

The CiO will travel to Kyiv today and have talks with members of the interim government and the Special Monitoring Mission tomorrow.

Teams of OSCE monitors have been working in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk since the end of March. Their deployment follows the decision of the OSCE Permanent Council of 21 March to deploy the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine for an initial period of six months. The mission consists initially of 100 civilian monitors, and can be expanded to 500 people. The Mission’s mandate covers the whole territory of Ukraine, but monitors are initially being deployed to Kherson, Odessa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Chernivtsi, Luhansk and Kyiv.