OSCE mission accuses both parties to Donbas conflict of flouting Minsk accords
KYIV. April 21 (Interfax) - Neither party to the Donbas conflict is complying with the Minsk memorandum of September 19, 2014, which contains a provision requiring the removal of the forces from the frontline, said Alexander Hug, first deputy head of the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE SMM), at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.
Article 2 of the Minsk Memorandum, in particular, urges both sides to stick to the positions they occupied on September 19, 2014, not to get closer to each other and the dividing line, Hug said. The problem is that neither party has observed this agreement, in particular Article 2 of the memorandum, he said.
The SMM deputy chief noted that he understands people's fears: the refusal to remove equipment and weapons or even observe the positions as valid on September 21, 2014, is risky, because a vacuum always gets filled. And if either party fails to do so, there is a fear that the other one will too. This approach, however, does not contribute to a steady ceasefire, the SMM deputy chief said.
Each new advancement by one party prompts a reaction in response, Hug said. Very quickly, a certain spiral of violence breaks out, with both sides continually punishing each other for every move, Hug said. Although sometimes there is a certain tactical or strategic justification to such moves, in most cases it is violence for the sake of violence, said Hug, likening the situation to a cancer tumor that devours everything around it.
On April 18, SMM monitors spent three hours registering numerous artillery and mortar explosions in Zaitseve, he said. The same situation is in Avdiivka, as well as Yasynuvata, where, last Thursday, SMM monitors registered around 300 blasts, Hug said.
The parties to the conflict have moved closer to each other in Pavlopil and Kominterneve, and are fighting in Shyrokyne, he said.
