President of Ukraine asks head of OSCE to deploy police mission in the Donbas
During a meeting with Sebastian Kurz, acting chairman of the OSCE and Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign affairs, President Petro Poroshenko called for discussion to be initiated in Vienna regarding the deployment of an armed OSCE police mission to the Donbas, as reported on the president’s website.
Special attention was given to the increase in incidences of OSCE observer intimidation by the pro-Russian separatists. The Ukrainian President pointed out that the primary goal of the Russian’s tactic of intimidating OSCE observers is to restrict the Mission’s access to the uncontrolled territory as much as possible, even to completely expel the OSCE SMM from the region.
Poroshenko emphasized the necessity of enhancing the technical capabilities of the Mission, which would make it possible to improve the safety of the OSCE personnel, especially by expanding the remote monitoring capabilities.
The president drew attention to the steps taken by the Kremlin to integrate the seized Ukrainian enterprises located in the separatist-held territories of the Donbas into the Russian economy.
“Not only does this obstruct the implementation of the Minsk agreements, it also proves that Russia prepared the expropriation of the Ukrainian enterprises in the occupied territories in advance,” Poroshenko said.
He urged Kurz to react by all possible means to Moscow’s violation of Ukrainian citizens’ rights in the separatist-held territories. In particular, Poroshenko drew attention to the blocking of the release of hostages in the Donbas, in spite of Ukraine completing the so-called verification procedures.
The matter of the de-occupation of the Crimea was discussed separately. Poroshenko welcomed the ruling of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the EU to prolong the “Crimean package” of sanctions by a year, and expressed hope that it would be ratified at the level of the EU Foreign Ministers on June 19.
The head of state expressed confidence that Austria would proceed from respect for the supremacy of law, both in the context of the OSCE mission and in the matter of preserving and, if necessary, intensifying the economic and sectoral EU sanctions against Russia.
Poroshenko also congratulated Kurz on being elected Chairperson of the Austrian People’s Party.
Previously Kurz promised that during his representation in the OSCE in 2017, Austria would endeavor to ease the EU’s sanctions against Russia. The Austrian Foreign Minister pointed out the necessity of changing trends in relations with Russia and departure from thinking in “cold war” categories. Instead, Kurz proposes that “each positive change on the ground” should be responded to with “an incremental easing of sanctions”.