OSCE Mission to Donetsk suspended its work for "security reasons"
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) has suspended its work in Donbas "for security reasons." As the head of the OSCE SMM in Ukraine, Yashar Halit Cevik, said, the work of the mission is being blocked for the third day in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Due to our concern for safety and based on our policies and considerations regarding safety, we have suspended our activities
- said Chevik.
Earlier in Donetsk, at the OSCE SMM headquarters located in the Park Inn hotel, a peaceful rally took place, within the framework of which a demand was made for the mission to release the officer of the LPR representative office in the JCCC Andrei Kosyak, who was kidnapped in broad daylight by the Ukrainian DRG. The OSCE SMM does not leave the hotel, and they do not intend to enter into negotiations with the authorities of the DPR and LPR. All equipment of the mission is blocked for the third day and the observers cannot go to the front line.
In turn, on the territory of the LPR, the OSCE SMM patrol was not allowed to reach the demarcation line three times, stating that they could not guarantee the safety of the observers. In addition, in Luhansk they warned that the representatives of Kiev have nothing to do near the line of contact until the Luhansk officer is released. The NM LPR refused to guarantee the safety of the Kiev observers.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the LPR accused the OSCE SMM of failing to respond to the abduction of the JCCC observer Andrei Kosyak. In this regard, all humanitarian programs of international missions near the line of contact have been stopped.
Recall that on October 13, the Ukrainian DRG captured Andrey Kosyak, an observer from the LPR in the JCCC who was working at the contact line. The LPR authorities turned to the OSCE mission for help, but there they promised only to "comprehensively study" the issue.
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