OSCE Panel of Eminent Persons complete research visit to Kyiv

Munich, 30 April 2015 - Several members of the OSCE Panel of Eminent Persons (PEP) visited Kiev on April 29 and 30 at the invitation of the Government of Ukraine. The panel members met with the leaders of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and other OSCE officials, Ukrainian government officials, and members of the diplomatic community, including the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Ukraine.

After a panel meeting in Munich in February and research sessions in Vienna in March, the meetings in Kiev represent another important step in the process of the panel's work. The panel is tasked to report to the OSCE Permanent Council  in June 2015 through an interim report, in particular on lessons learned for from the OSCE’s engagement in Ukraine; and a final report, to be presented at the Ministerial Council in Belgrade in December 2015, on the broader issues of security in Europe and the OSCE area at large.

Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, the chairman of the PEP, said: "The meetings in Kiev have been particularly significant and insightful for our panel members. They allowed us to engage face-to-face with the OSCE leaders who deal with the crisis on the ground 24/7. We return with many useful ideas and thoughts to consider for our reports."