Updated 5:06 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti) – The OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine violates its mandate by trying to evaluate the situation in Crimea, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday.
"We are perplexed by the monitors" attempts to evaluate [the] situation in Russia's Crimea. This is being done under visible external pressure and contrary to the mission's mandate. The mandate clearly defines the mission's zone of responsibility," Lukashevich said.
The spokesman noted that the mission's mandate lists ten Ukrainian cities and does not mention any Russian regions.
On Wednesday, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) published a report on the activities of its Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine as of October 7, 2014. The report notes that the SMM attended a press conference of Crimean Tatars in Kiev, where the leader of the Tatars accused the Crimean authorities of "intimidation and unlawful actions" conducted against the Tatar community in Crimea.
Following the February coup in the country, residents of Crimea refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government and held a referendum in March which resulted in Crimea's reunification with Russia.
Residents of the southeast also expressed opposition to the newly-installed government, which led to violent clashes in the region and a subsequent military operation launched by the Kiev authorities to suppress the independence movement.
The OSCE monitoring mission was deployed in Ukraine's volatile regions in late March following a request to the OSCE from the Ukrainian government and a consensus agreement by all 57 OSCE participating states. The monitors are to contribute to reducing tensions and fostering peace, stability and security in Ukraine's conflict-torn southeast.
