MOSCOW, September 13 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday gave the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) a go-ahead for the use of drones during OSCE observer operations in Ukraine, according to a statement on the president's official page.
"Petro Poroshenko has granted the OSCE his permission to use unmanned aerial vehicles, and [OSCE Chairperson-in-Office] Didier Burkhalter has pledged to bring them over to Ukraine as soon as possible," the statement said.
This came after a telephone conversation between Poroshenko and Burkhalter, who is also a Swiss president. The leaders delved into the details of OSCE's special monitoring mission in Ukraine, in particular in the issue of monitoring the truce in eastern regions.
Didier Burkhalter vowed to dispatch more qualified observers to monitor the sides' compliance with the conditions of the ceasefire, which came into force on September 5. The truce is said to be "largely holding," despite both the Ukrainian military and independence supporters in Donetsk and Luhansk regions blaming each other for having violated the accord in the immediate aftermath.
