Outgoing OSCE envoy Tagliavini may attend Normandy Quartet meeting in Paris - Karasin
MOSCOW. June 9 (Interfax) - Heidi Tagliavini, an outgoing Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) special representative in the Trilateral Contact Group for Ukraine, and OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) Chief Monitor Ertugrul Apakan are expected to take part in an upcoming meeting of the Normandy Quartet (France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine) deputy foreign ministers in Paris, Russian State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said.
"Heidi Tagliavini's participation is planned, and, as far as I understand, Ambassador Apakan will also take part in it," Karasin told Interfax on Tuesday.
Swiss media reported on Saturday that Tagliavini would no longer perform her mandate, which was later confirmed by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The reasons behind the decision were not reported.
Some in the Trilateral Contact Group for Ukraine tend to interpret Tagliavini's decision to step down as an indication of the OSCE's desire to play a more active role in settling the Donbas conflict.