OSCE Chairman Calls on Moscow, Kiev to Return to Cooperation on Aid Convoy

© RIA Novosti . Alexey Druzhinin / Go to the mediabankThe Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter
The Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter - Sputnik International
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The Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter has expressed regret that the Russian-Ukrainian terms of agreement on the delivery of humanitarian aid have not been executed properly and called on all parties to refrain from actions that may cause further escalation.

VIENNA, August 23 (RIA Novosti) - The Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter has expressed regret that the Russian-Ukrainian terms of agreement on the delivery of humanitarian aid have not been executed properly and called on all parties to refrain from actions that may cause further escalation.

“Deploring that the agreement by Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the modalities of delivering the convoy aid was not implemented in good faith… Didier Burkhalter called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from any actions which could contribute to the further escalation of the situation,” according to the OSCE statement early Saturday.

“Stressing that humanitarian aid had to be delivered in accordance with humanitarian principles and in full respect of Ukrainian sovereignty, Burkhalter urged all sides to help transform this convoy aid into a co-operative endeavor again,” the OSCE reported.

“In view of the increasingly precarious living conditions of the civilian population in the east of Ukraine, a return to co-operative and legitimate humanitarian efforts is now urgently needed,” Burkhalter was quoted as saying.

The chairperson also said the OSCE “would continue to support the efforts of the ICRC to operate in the region to the benefit of the people in need.”

The first group of Russia’s aid convoy trucks that crossed into Ukraine on Friday has rolled into the stricken city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, the city authority said. The convoy has fully passed Russian customs control. In response to the negative reaction of Kiev and the West, who believe that the trucks should move through Ukraine only when accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Moscow said it is inadmissible to further delay the supply of emergency assistance to the south-eastern regions of Ukraine, which are experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called it "violation of international regulations" that trucks from the Russian convoy had crossed the Ukrainian border, and urged international partners to condemn Russia. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged Russia to keep the situation with humanitarian aid within the international legal framework, the press service of the Ukrainian president reported.

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