Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemns attacks against OSCE monitors
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine demands that Russia stop provocations against the Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE and ensure safe and unhindered access to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the shelling of a car of the Special Monitoring Mission, which was carried out by militants on April 7, 2016, near Snizhne. We believe this was another daring attempt to intimidate the observers of the OSCE SMM. We emphasize that Russia and its puppets should fulfill its obligations within the framework of the Minsk Agreements," the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported on Friday.
"We demand to stop provocations against the OSCE observers, ensure safe and unhindered access for the SMM to the entire territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including to the parts of the Ukrainian-Russian border which are not controlled by Ukraine, according to the Minsk Agreements," the statement says.
In turn, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the Ukrainian side provides observers of the OSCE with safe and unhindered access to all of Ukraine, as provided by the mandate of the mission.
It was previously reported on Thursday, April 7 by the Deputy Head of the OSCE mission to Ukraine, Aleksand Hug, that shots were fired at a vehicle belonging to the OSCE SMM. "That same day, representatives of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic stopped our mission near Smeloye, pointing guns at our observers," Hug said.