New OSCE chairperson-in-office to make his first trip to Kyiv, visit eastern Ukraine

"I consider the protracted conflicts to be the most dangerous. The conflict in and around Ukraine is one of them. Therefore, I am going to pay my first visit to Ukraine as the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office," Rau said at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As noted, he will also make a trip to eastern Ukraine "to see the situation on the ground with my own eyes."

According to Rau, the living conditions of civilians in conflict-affected areas are particularly important for Poland’s OSCE chairmanship. This issue will also be the focus of his trip to Ukraine.

As reported, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office said during the Permanent Council meeting that the OSCE should focus its efforts on a peaceful settlement of the "conflict in and around Ukraine" in accordance with the Minsk Agreements and with full respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Poland’s OSCE chairmanship is also ready to present initiatives aimed at achieving mutual understanding and reducing tensions in the region.

Poland took over the OSCE chair on January 1.

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