Ukraine’s permanent representative to OSCE: Mission may launch at least distance monitoring of situation in Crimea

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Ihor Prokopchuk made a corresponding statement at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine reports.

“Although the Russian occupation administration continues to deny access of OSCE SMM monitors to the peninsula, it must not be an obstacle for launching a distance monitoring of the situation with human rights and fundamental freedoms in Crimea, as practiced by other international organizations and their missions within the mandates. Our calls in this regard should not be ignored,” he said.

Prokopchuk noted that the Ukrainian side welcomes the visits of SMM patrols to crossing points between Chonhar, Kalanchak, Chaplynka and the Russia-occupied peninsula, where “the Mission observed calm situations.”

“But we urge the SMM to use those visits for communicating with victims, witnesses, relatives of victims, lawyers, NGOs, and independent mass media, whose plight under oppression of the Russian occupation administration in Crimea is regularly a subject of close attention in the Permanent Council and international fora,” the Ukrainian diplomat added.

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