OSCE chairperson-in-office urges conflicting parties in Donbas to implement 'school truce' obligations
KYIV. Aug 23 (Interfax) - OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz has welcomed an agreement reached by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine pertaining to the introduction of a ceasefire along the disengagement line in Donbas from midnight on August 25 on the occasion of the beginning of the new academic year.
"I welcome this initiative by the sides (...) I call on the sides to live up to their own commitments and finally establish and respect a full and permanent ceasefire. Clearly, however, many more steps will have to follow, so that the civilians of Donbas do not have to live in fear anymore," Kurz said in a statement released by the OSCE press service on Wednesday evening.
The OSCE chairperson-in-office also thanked the 'Normandy Four' leaders for their permanent engagement and their explicit support for this ceasefire.
"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."
