DONETSK - The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) to Ukraine is encouraging the parties to the conflict in Donbas to reach agreement on holding local elections that should help stabilize the situation, OSCE SMM Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said.
The OSCE has offered its expertise and is urging the parties to invest joint efforts to reach agreement on complying with the requirements regarding these elections, and both parties are working hard on this and meet in Minsk every week for discussions, Hug said to journalists on Friday.
The more the parties talk to each other, the more hope for a good result, and the Minsk meetings should help settle existing differences, Hug said.
There is the hope that people living in Donbas would vote for those who would govern this territory in the future, which should consolidate the basis for stabilizing the situation, he said.
Hug said that it would be naive to hope that the Minsk agreements could be implemented and all problems settled overnight, and that negotiations between the parties are a precondition for success.Minsk serves as a forum where the parties can talk to each other, he said.
