MOSCOW, November 14 (Sputnik) – Reports of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine contain no information about the buildup of Kiev government forces along the line of contact in the east of the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.
“It looks like the mission’s efforts are directed solely at aiding and supporting only one party to the conflict – the Kiev government,” the ministry said in a statement.
“In order to complete the mission’s tasks, its mandate necessitates contacts with local representatives, first of all with the leadership of the people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. As far as we know, the self-defense forces are open to such contacts,” it said.
Last week, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic claimed that Kiev deployed tanks to the outskirts of Donetsk in order to strengthen its military operation there.
However, Ukrainian authorities said that pro-independence fighters painted their military hardware in Ukrainian Army colors in order to compromise Kiev.
Over the weekend, the SMM reported the movement of large military convoys of heavy weapons and tanks in Donbas but failed to identify to whom the convoys belonged.
On November 13, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich stated that the resumption of military action in southeastern Ukraine would be a disaster. Lukashevich stressed that Russia is urging the international community to stop Kiev from planning the resumption of full-scale military action.
Lukashevich also said that Moscow doubted the impartiality of the SMM to Ukraine, and called on it to "stop being a witness testifying on behalf of Kiev." He added that Russian troops had never crossed the border with Ukraine responding to NATO's Wednesday allegations accusing Russia of sending tanks, artillery and combat troops to the crisis-hit country.
The SMM, which was deployed at the Ukrainian government's request after the situation in the country escalated, is currently observing the ceasefire in the country. The monitors are working on fostering peace, stability and security there.
