The activity of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) members in the anti-terrorist operation zone is still being hindered by the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and Ukrainian servicemen, OSCE SMM Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug has said.
The SMM has been encountering obstructions, complications and procedures which are not envisaged by any agreements: for instance, armed representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic ordered the observers to leave the village of Lukove on November 19, saying the observers needed written permission from their command to visit that area, and SMM access to a heavy weapons storage site was blocked by DPR representatives the next day with reference to a ban imposed by their command, he said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Nov. 26.
On the same day, Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen limited access of the observers to a heavy weapons storage site without any explanation, the OSCE SMM deputy chief monitor said.
The SMM once again urged the sides to honor their obligations and to ensure the free movement of OSCE monitors as a guarantee of the fulfillment of the mission’s mandate and the Minsk agreements, Hug said.
