VIENNA, September 15 (RIA Novosti) – The Chief Monitor of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan called on all the sides of the Ukrainian conflict to allow the monitors to carry out their duties and stressed the efforts would continue even in the case of violations of the ceasefire.
“We call on all sides to abide by the ceasefire commitment as agreed in Minsk, and to allow for full monitoring of the implementation of this regime. The SMM is determined to continue its mission, as mandated by the OSCE’s 57 participating States. In this regard, activities of the SMM in the eastern region of Ukraine will continue.” Apakan’s statement on the website of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Europe reads.
According to the SMM chief, on September 14, vehicles with monitors patrolling the east of Donetsk came under artillery fire. No injuries were reported.
“We profoundly regret the fact that our teams were substantially endangered during the course of their agreed monitoring mission. This is entirely unacceptable,” Apakan said.
The SMM chief said also that he had been notified of a series of violations of the ceasefire agreed between the official Kiev and independence supporters during the September 5 meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine in Minsk. According to Apakan, such breaches “have increased in the last 48 hours.”
