REUTERS
The decision to deploy in Donbas the organization's armed mission should only be taken by the OSCE Permanent Council, Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Alexander Hug told reporters on Sunday.
The OSCE Permanent Council has the authority to take such decisions, according to Hug.
It can change the OSCE SMM’s mandate or create another mission, he said at a press conference in Kyiv, answering a question on whether the OSCE is considering the issue of deploying an armed mission in the east of Ukraine in connection with the deadly incident involving an OSCE SMM patrol in a militant-controlled area of Luhansk.
Read alsoPoroshenko asks Tillerson to revisit UN peacekeepers deployment in Donbas after OSCE incidentAs UNIAN reported, on April 23, the vehicle of the OSCE SMM patrol blew up on a mine near the village of Prishib, controlled by “LPR” militants. An unarmed American monitor was killed in a blast, while another two monitors – from Germany and Czech Republic – were injured.
Read alsoUkraine's MFA: Kremlin attempts to intimidate OSCE in Donbas by blowing up car (Video)UNIAN memo. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has repeatedly stressed the need to deploy an OSCE armed police mission in the east of Ukraine an order to ensure security. However, the formation of such a mission requires the consent of all 57 OSCE participating countries.