UK, US after changing OSCE mandate in Ukraine: Russia

Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin has accused the US and the UK of seeking to change the existing mandate of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring the ceasefire in Ukraine’s conflict-torn east.

Churkin made the remarks on Friday after a closed door meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the situation in eastern Ukraine, which was also attended by Erturgul Apakan, the head of the OSCE special monitoring mission and Heidi Tagliavini, the OSCE envoy to the Contact Group for peace settlement in Ukraine.

“We were not especially enthusiastic about the meeting that was held today because attempts are being made to rewrite the Minsk accords, to preach to the OSCE what they should do and to impose the things standing far outside the mission’s mandate on it,” said Churkin.

The Russian envoy added that the OSCE was urged to extend its monitoring to include the entire Russia-Ukraine border and was asked what resources they needed for effective work.

“There are the Minsk accords that contain an interpretation of the problem of the state border and there’s an appropriate mandate for it, and so what’s the sense of raising the issue at the Security Council?” said Churkin, adding, “This is done simply to exert some psychological impact and, quite possibly, to divert attention.”

Churkin continued by saying that “instead of pressing forward with the demand to stop warring and implement the Minsk accords and fulfill the OSCE mandate, they’re trying to conjure up something vague.”

The Russian ambassador argued that reforming the watchdog’s mandate would not be in line with the Berlin declaration made last July, which prompted the deployment of OSCE officials to the restive regions in Ukraine.

Churkin said that if the OSCE were to extend their mandate in the region, representatives of the pro-Russians in eastern Ukraine should join the negotiations.

During the UNSC meeting, the two OSCE officials reported that both Kiev troops and pro-Russian forces have taken steps in pulling out heavy weaponry from the front line in accordance with the Minsk deal reached earlier this month, which also included a ceasefire. The two sides, however, have continued to engage in sporadic clashes.

Donetsk and Lugansk are two mainly Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine which have been hit by deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April last year to crush pro-Russia protests there.

Nearly 5,800 people have been killed and close to a million have been displaced since the armed conflict began in eastern Ukraine in April 2014.

CAH/MKA/HRB

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