Ukraine asks for greater OSCE involvement in Crimea
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is conducting negotiations aimed to expand the mandate of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe observer mission to widely operate in every area of the Donbass region. Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin explained this objective last Tuesday during his report on the year-end results of the Ministry’s activities.
"Let's see what role the OSCE mission can take. The mission must have access to every area in Donbas. This is the only way we can get reasonable assurance that weapons are not being hidden in mines and factories, that the real process of withdrawal is going on and that there is no threat of further attacks,” Klimkin said.
“This is the only way we can gradually gain full control over the Ukrainian-Russian border in the future,” he explained. “The OSCE observation mission and the OSCE special mission must assist us so we can make real progress.” According to the Minister, negotiations are now underway to ensure the missions’ full-scale activity in the region.
"The critical goal is for the international community to gain access to Crimea in order to observe all violations of human rights," Klimkin said. "We are working to ensure that the Council of Europe and the OSCE have the opportunity to work there. And we'll continue to work in that direction to deny the legitimacy of Russia’s aggression," he added.
The Minister also spoke about Ukraine’s major concerns in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). "Our priorities are territorial integrity, prosecution of the responsible for the downing of the Malaysian plane and strengthening the fight against terrorism.”