Updated 3:21 p.m. Moscow Time
VIENNA, October 9 (RIA Novosti) – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) may extend the mandate of its monitoring on the Russian-Ukrainian border, mission chief Paul Picard said Thursday.
Picard said the OSCE Permanent Council has been discussing the issue recently, as well as sending monitors to more border crossings.
On Monday, the Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Ukrainian crisis in a telephone conversation with the OSCE Chief Didier Burkhalter. The two agreed that the Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine needed to be strengthened.
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was deployed in the country in late March following a request to the OSCE by Ukraine's 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 July, Russia agreed to international monitoring of its Gukovo and Donetsk checkpoints on the Russian-Ukrainian border. Moscow said the OSCE Mission needed to continue its work in Ukraine to keep a record of what was actually happening in the troubled regions.
Kiev has repeatedly claimed that Russian troops are violating the Ukrainian border, but has not yet provided substantial evidence that would verify these accusations.
