Press Statement of Special Representative Kinnunen after the regular Meeting of Trilateral Contact Group on 15 September 2021

KYIV, 15 September 2021 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Mikko Kinnunen, made the following statement to the press after the regular meetings of the TCG ‎and its Working Groups held through video conferencing:

The security situation along the contact line remains volatile with an average of 273 cease-fire violations per day reported by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) during the first two weeks of September 2021, an increase of about 30% compared to the month of August. I particularly deplore the rising number of civilian casualties, namely 11 in the month of August, the highest number of monthly civilian casualties since the entering into force of the July 2020 agreement on strengthening the ceasefire. The participants in the Security Working Group continued working on the draft Addendum to agreement on strengthening ceasefire, however, disagreements over the nature of the possible new coordination and verification mechanism remained.

The Political Working Group discussed issues related to the elaboration of a draft action plan in full compliance with the Minsk agreements.

Participants in the Economic Working Group engaged in a detailed discussion on different aspects of water supply to certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine (CADLO). They also dealt with ecological issues, discussed pension payments and questions related to telecommunication. I was particularly pleased to hear about the successful first session of the expert group on ecological hazards related to flooded mines near the contact line.

For the second time, the meeting of the Humanitarian Working Group could not take place as the controversy over a recent expert appointment was not yet solved. The issues of vital importance to population on both sides of contact line, such as the opening of new crossing points and the mutual exchange of conflict-related detainees could not be discussed. I emphasize the need to a seek swift way out of this impasse ahead of the next scheduled meeting of the Working Group.”