OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Chief Monitor urges sides to heed ceasefire appeal at school year’s start

KYIV, 1 September 2015 - The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine welcomes the new impetus for peace provided by the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) that the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Martin Sajdik, announced last week in Minsk, said the SMM’s Chief Monitor, Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, today.

“The TCG has called for a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire at the start of the new school year," Apakan stated. "We urge all sides to heed the call and to establish a full and comprehensive ceasefire. This will directly and immediately benefit communities close to the line of contact, which continue to bear the brunt of the fighting. SMM teams continue to monitor and report on the impact of fighting on these communities, in particular on women and children.”