VIENNA (Sputnik) — OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz welcomed on Wednesday the agreement on ceasefire in Donbass from August 25, that has been reached by members of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, and called on the sides to comply with their commitments.
"I welcome this initiative by the sides to put the lives and well-being of civilians first as the new school year gets underway. I call on the sides to live up to their own commitments and finally establish and respect a full and permanent ceasefire," Kurz said as quoted in a press release.
He thanked the leaders of the Normandy Four format for their support for the ceasefire, but noted that there were still many steps to be made in order to ensure peace in Donbass.
"I once again remind all sides of the need to allow the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine safe and unhindered access across the conflict area, so that through their reporting and monitoring, they can help the sides establish a lasting peace," Kurz said.
The Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, with representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE, was set up in 2014 to promote direct dialogue between Ukraine’s conflicting parties.
