You're reading: Merkel blames self-declared republics for OSCE, Red Cross failure to reach eastern Ukraine

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team and OSCE have not received a full access to the eastern territories of Ukraine so far.

She stressed the importance of letting humanitarian aid reach the affected areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as opportunity for the international monitors to have access to these territories. She has said that illegal armed formations hamper to do that, Bloomberg agency reported.

“Regarding the Minsk agreement, I would like to say again that apart from a ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons, it is also important to finally start with humanitarian aid. Unfortunately, this has not yet happened, that the International Red Cross be granted adequate access to areas around Donetsk and Luhansk. This has to be improved,” Merkel stressed.