Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he is unhappy with the performance of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
"As for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, we actively support this mechanism, which has a clear mandate to work throughout Ukraine, not only in Donbas, but also in other regions in terms of monitoring respect for human rights, national minorities, and [monitoring] attempts to revive neo-Nazism. Unfortunately, the Mission pays insufficient attention to this part of its mandate," Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow on August 11, according to UNIAN's own correspondent in Russia.
Read alsoOSCE reports over 250 violations since start of newly-agreed ceasefire in Donbas
He also said the OSCE SMM's performance in Donbas "gives rise to questions."
"In particular, the SMM prefers to report on ceasefire violations and shelling of civilian targets without going into detail: 'there have been that many attacks in such and such a period.' It says nothing about which side [mounts the attacks]," he said.
OSCE in Donbas
- Russia-led forces in Donbas block OSCE monitors' entry into the territory that is not controlled by the government of Ukraine, citing quarantine restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
- According to the OSCE, 60 civilians have become victims of the war in Donbas since the beginning of the year.
- In early August, OSCE monitors spotted a "Cargo 200" minibus, which is used to transport dead bodies, crossing the uncontrolled part of the Russian-Ukrainian border.
