OSCE SMM needs access to Crimea and Ukrainian-Russian border – EU

The EU said this in a statement on the security situation in and around Ukraine, delivered during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

“The SMM continues to be deprived of safe, unconditional and unimpeded movement throughout Ukraine, including Crimea and along the Ukrainian-Russian state border,” the EU delegation to the OSCE said.

“We condemn any interference with the SMM´s work and its technical equipment, occurring predominantly in the areas controlled by Russia-backed armed formations. Over the last week (28 January - 3 February) the SMM was restricted on 11 occasions in its freedom of movement - all in areas controlled by Russia-backed armed formations, including at checkpoints near Zaichenko and Bezimenne, where the Mission has encountered consistent restrictions since the middle of 2018,” the EU noted.

The armed formations also continued to restrict the SMM’s access near the border with the Russian Federation in areas not under government control. The EU strongly condemns these attempts to blind the Mission, especially in the context in which the Russian Federation opposes any significant expansion of the observation of the uncontrolled Russian-Ukrainian state border.

“We call on Russia to immediately stop providing financial and military support to the armed formations. The ceasefire must be respected. All Minsk-regulated weapons must be withdrawn. All foreign armed formations, military equipment and mercenaries must be removed from Ukraine. Re-establishing full Ukrainian control over its state border is essential,” the statement noted.

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