Minsk agreements lack alternative
Russia’s Foreign Ministry and OSCE agree there is no alternative to Minsk agreements, RIA Novosti reports
On meeting OSCE Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “We have confirmed that there is no alternative to the full and consistent implementation of Minsk’s package of measures, and we hope that the current chairmanship, including through a special representative in Ukraine and the Contact Group, will facilitate movement – imminent and responsible as much as possible – along this avenue.”
Mr. Lavrov stressed that the main task now is ‘ensure a direct dialogue between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk’. “It is also necessary to ensure the impartiality of observing the situation by the OSCE special monitoring mission. We expect its leadership will get down to constructive working interaction with the authorities of Donetsk and Lugansk – as required by the mission’s mandate,” he added.
In turn, Mr. Rau noted that the OSCE special monitoring mission’s work in Ukraine continues, although some states have withdrawn their observers. As TASS reports, the OSCE Chairman added that, during the negotiations, ‘a question arose regarding partial withdrawal of their observers by some countries’. “I stated with complete confidence that such a situation is not leading to restricted fulfilment of the mission's mandate. It is still fulfilling its obligations," Mr. Rau said.
