Lasting peace requires political solutions, says OSCE Chief Monitor in Ukraine

VIENNA, 30 November 2018 – A renewed understanding and commitment is needed to reinvigorate the negotiation process and normalize the situation on the ground in eastern Ukraine, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, Ertugrul Apakan, said in his address to the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday in Vienna.

The Chief Monitor reiterated the need for additional measures to strengthen the ceasefire to be agreed by the Trilateral Contact Group. Recent loss of life, he told OSCE participating States, underlined that adherence was less than complete. He flagged the presence of mines and the positioning of personnel and hardware in and around residential areas as matters  of particular concern.

Many civilians, Apakan said, were facing a fifth winter without security and stability and without the basics of life such as clean drinking water, electricity and gas. While repairs and maintenance to 90 civilian infrastructure facilities had been made possible since the beginning of the year through SMM-facilitated dialogue and monitored adherence to the ceasefire, a full and sustainable ceasefire was required to ensure utilities were available to all, Apakan noted.

Referring to recent incidents at sea that have raised tensions, Apakan reiterated his call for restraint and to engage in dialogue to de-escalate the situation.