STOCKHOLM, 16 September 2021 — The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, expressed regret that no consensus could be reached on the extension of the mandate of the Observer Mission at the Russian checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk on the Russian-Ukrainian border, an important component of the OSCE’s response to the crisis in and around Ukraine.

The Mission is tasked to monitor and report on the situation as well as on the movement across the border and was deployed on 24 July 2014, following the Joint Declaration by the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany on 2 July 2014, in which they reconfirmed their commitment to sustainable peace and stability in Ukraine. The Mission’s current mandate expires on 30 September 2021. On 2 September, the Russian Federation informed the OSCE participating States that it would not support the extension of the mandate of the Observer Mission.

“For the OSCE to fulfil its role as a platform for peace and stability, the Organization must make full use of all the tools at its disposal. I deeply regret that we could not reach a consensus on the extension of the Observer Mission mandate following the decision of the Russian Federation. For over seven years, the Mission has contributed to confidence-building and increased transparency on the Russian-Ukrainian border through its impartial monitoring and reporting,” Chairperson-in-Office Linde said, expressing her gratitude to the Chief Observer Gyorgy Varga and all his team for their service.

In this context, the Chairperson-in-Office also stressed the need for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements in their entirety and recalled that the Minsk Protocol of 2014 provides for permanent monitoring on the Ukrainian–Russian state border and verification by the OSCE, together with the creation of a security zone in the border regions of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

Linde underlined the Swedish Chair’s strong commitment to a sustainable political solution in line with the OSCE’s principles and commitments, with full respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.