Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said that former First Deputy Head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), Alexander Hug had to find words that would not allow pro-Russian interpretations.
“Alexander Hug once clearly got into the communication history. And not because he is pro-Russian, since he tried to fulfill his duties as deputy head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine impartially. And primarily because, despite the official status of an observer, he cannot go beyond the formal framework in his statements, that is, he has no right to give any political assessments and say “on his own behalf,” Klimkin wrote on Facebook page on Tuesday.
He noted that in this “sensitive situation, directly conditioned by his mandate, it was necessary to find other words that would not allow any pro-Russian interpretations.”
“The understanding and support of the SMM in Ukraine largely depends on this. Thus, the range of opportunities for OSCE monitors in Donbas is very limited. In addition, the Russian occupants impede their work in every way. But the presence of such a mission is more important than the absence of any mission,” the minister said.
