OSCE announces closure of Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine

29.04.2022 09:27

Ukrinform

OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister of Poland Zbigniew Rau and OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid announced that the OSCE would take immediate steps to implement the closure of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.

This is stated in the Organization’s press release, Ukrinform reports.

The decision was made after Russia had not allowed the OSCE SMM mandate to be extended at the OSCE Permanent Council on 31 March 2022.

“This is not an easy decision to take. We have explored all possible options through political dialogue with participating States to achieve the renewal of the Special Monitoring Mission’s mandate, but the position of the Russian Federation left us with no choice but to take steps to close down the Mission,” said Chairman-in-Office Rau.

However, he assured that the Organization will seek to continue its engagement in the country in line with existing OSCE commitments.

“The Polish Chairmanship will continue to engage with participating States in order to explore alternatives on the OSCE’s future role in Ukraine,” Rau stressed.

Secretary General Schmid added that: “The vital role the Mission played for the past eight years by providing invaluable and objective facts on the ground, facilitating dialogue where there was none and enabling the repairs of civilian infrastructure on which millions of people depend, cannot be overestimated”.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) began its work on March 21, 2014, following a request from the Government of Ukraine to the OSCE and a consensus decision made by all 57 OSCE participating States.