Statement by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Steinmeier on latest incidents targeting the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine

BERLIN, 27 May 2016 – Following two recent incidents targeting the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) in the country’s east, OSCE Chairperson-in Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued the following statement: 

“It is with great concern I have learnt that shots were fired in the direction of an SMM patrol near the contact line today, and that an SMM long-range monitoring Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was shot down near Horlivka. Such assaults against the civilian, unarmed OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine are completely unacceptable. They add to a number of serious impediments to the work of the Mission, including the disabling of SMM monitoring cameras in the Donetsk airport area. Such actions undermine our joint efforts to sustainably consolidate the ceasefire.

I, therefore, call on all sides to respect what was agreed. All sides have to fully guarantee the security and safety of SMM monitors and ensure their unfettered access to the whole conflict area. Those responsible for the attacks on the Mission have to be held accountable.

A sustainable ceasefire is a matter of urgency, and essential to ensure progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.”