Press Statement of Special Representative Grau after the regular Meeting of Trilateral Contact Group on 19 May 2021

KYIV, 19 May 2021 — The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Heidi Grau, made the following statement to the press after the regular meetings of the TCG ‎and its Working Groups were held through video conferencing:

“The ceasefire violations remain on a high level. The increased use of heavy weapons deployed in violation of the withdrawal lines also causes serious concern. Moreover, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) has recorded ceasefire violations in close vicinity and inside disengagement areas.

Continued restrictions to the freedom of movement of the OSCE SMM and targeting its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are negatively affecting the implementation of the Mission's mandate.

Such trends do not contribute to confidence building between the sides.

Compliance with the ceasefire was in the focus of the discussions of the Security Working Group and the TCG. Participants in the meeting once again reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire. However, disagreement over the functioning of the coordination mechanism remained.

Procedural issues continued to dominate the discussions of the Political Working Group, preventing discussion on development of an action plan in full compliance with the Minsk agreements as tasked by the TCG.

The Humanitarian Working Group focused on removing obstacles to the simultaneous opening of new crossing points near Zolote and Shchastia of the Luhansk region. The discussions in the Working Group also focused on the mutual release and exchange of conflict-related detainees.

The Economic Working Group primarily considered water supply issues in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine (CADLR), particularly with regard to the territories serviced by the public utility enterprise 'Voda Donbassa'. In addition, the environmental topics, as well as pension payments and renewal of economic relations across the contact line were discussed. During the meeting, the question of protecting the property of Ukrainian citizens was also given consideration.”