Sweden's Top Diplomat Visits Donbas In 2-Day Ukraine Trip As New OSCE Chairperson

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2021) OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Sweden's Foreign Minister, Ann Linde, concluded a two-day visit to Ukraine with a trip to the conflict-affected areas of the country's east.

Linde visited the area of the town of Zolote on the border with breakaway Luhansk with a delegation of Ukrainian officials and remarked the positive impact of the Normandy agreements in facilitating stable border crossings.

"It has been very useful for me to see all the preparations that have been made for the entry-exit points as agreed by the Normandy leaders in November 2020. We expect that their opening, with political will, becomes effective as a matter of urgency," Linde said, as quoted in an OSCE statement published Thursday.

She went on to commend the political effort that went into ensuring the opening of two new border crossings.

"Without disengagement, progress like this would not be possible. I commend the substantial political effort and work on the ground to open these two new entry-exit checkpoints. It is important to finalize plans to open the crossing points on both sides," the diplomat said.

The statement went on to describe the official's welcoming of the reduced violence following the July 2020 recommitment to a ceasefire by both sides but stressed that local civilians continue to be affected.

"I welcome the lower level of violence. However, lives are still being lost and the everyday life of citizens in this region is still heavily affected."

Ukraine's eastern Donbas region has been mired in conflict since 2014 when the wantaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk unilaterally declared independence from Kiev.