A technical meeting between the OSCE SMM’s Donetsk office authorities and Republic’s Plenipotentiary Natalia Nikonorova has been held with the assistance and participation of the DPR Mission to the JCCC.
Following the discussion, an understanding has been reached on the importance for the mission to resume monitoring compliance with the security guarantees provided by the parties during the rotation of work shifts at the Donetsk Filtration Station and the Vasilievka Pumping Station.
Such a measure is essential to be taken in order to prevent new incidents of JCCC staff’s getting kidnapped when escorting the working shifts of the stations twice a day, including by the road along which the AFU positions are located. Along with that, during the meeting, there were discussed the general issues of the living conditions of the OSCE SMM staff stranded at the Park Inn hotel.
The Republic representatives stated confidence that the next day the Ukrainian side would confirm its participation in an extraordinary meeting of the working group on security issues, during which, with the effective mediation of the OSCE SMM, specific steps would be drawn up and agreed upon for the illegally detained LPR monitor to return to the JCCC current ranks.
We note that today’s the rotation of working shifts at the DFS and VPS escorted by JCCC representatives was carried out with only one SMM patrol monitoring the AFU-controlled territory, which created additional risks for all the participants in the process.
