Russia Supports OSCE In Ukraine But Demands More Objectivity - Deputy Foreign Minister

Fakhir Rizvi Published March 18, 2019 | 10:20 PM

Russia supports the actions of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine but requires more objectivity in assessing Kiev's actions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2019) Russia supports the actions of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine but requires more objectivity in assessing Kiev's actions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko on Monday.

"We have supported it [the OSCE mission] from the very beginning. And we continue to invest in it 'politically' with personnel. We want it to operate in full compliance with its mandate. Meanwhile, we don't hide our criticism of its actions. For instance, we think it should cover the conflict zone more proportionally and more evenly - it should not only work on the side of Donetsk and Luhansk but also monitor everything that is happening on the side of Kiev," Grushko said in an interview with the International Affairs magazine.

He added that Moscow will require more impartiality in covering everything that concerns security on the ground. Grushko stressed that Moscow has been insisting on recording "fire as well as hits" on both sides for quite a long time in order to make the real situation more clear.

Moreover, Russia demands that the OSCE record thoroughly all the cases when Kiev breaches its obligations.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) was deployed on March 21, 2014 as an unarmed civilian mission. Its main aim is to observe and report everything that is happening in Ukraine. The mission also serves as a facilitator in dialogue between the warring parties in eastern Ukraine.

The conflict in Donbas started in 2014, when the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, which had refused to recognize the new government in Kiev that came to power after what they considered to be a coup.

In February 2015, the warring parties signed the Minsk peace accords to end the fighting in the region, but the situation has remained tense, with both sides accusing each other of ceasefire violations.