The opposing sides in the Ukraine conflict must continue to hold talks, and a special envoy, who will be appointed later, will oversee them, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter has said.
He also said that to implement Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s
peace plan it is necessary that insurgents be open to dialogue and to
lay down their arms.
He said that the decision to send special observers to Ukraine was a
serious landmark that reflects the necessity of looking for a compromise
under complicated conditions. They will continue the work despite the
detention of the OSCE observers in Donetsk and Luhansk, Burkhalter
added.
The OSCE intends to search for opportunities to provide assistance to
Ukraine in any tasks in which it could be of assistance, Burkhalter
added.
According to earlier reports, consultations between representatives
of Ukraine and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s
Republics took place in the building of the Donetsk region’s
administration on Monday.
Among the meeting participants were Russian Ambassador to Ukraine
Mikhail Zurabov, Heidi Tagliavini, a representative of the current OSCE
chairman-in-office, Ukraine’s second President Leonid Kuchma, Viktor
Medvedchuk (the head of the public organization Ukrainian Choice), Oleh
Tsariov (leader of the movement Southeast), and representatives of the
Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.
