MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter has urged Russia, the EU and the US to support the implementation of last week’s Geneva agreement on settling the crisis in Ukraine, the organization said in a statement Tuesday.
“He [Burkhalter] called on the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United States to lend full support to the work of the Ukrainian authorities and local communities as well as to the Special Monitoring Mission,” the OSCE statement said.
“In this regard, he asked all parties of the Geneva Statement to publicly call on all stakeholders in Ukraine to refrain from violence, to swiftly liberate illegally seized buildings and unlawfully occupied streets, squares and places, and to disarm,” the statement added.
Burkhalter, who also serves as the Swiss Foreign Minister, added that “effective implementation of the Geneva measures will require full commitment by all sides to co-operate and proceed through dialogue over an extensive period of time.”
In a bid to de-escalate the conflict, top diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union approved a statement last Thursday calling on both sides in the conflict in Ukraine to refrain from violence, extremism and provocations, disarm militants and launch a national dialogue on constitutional reform.
On Monday, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov said Kiev has failed to follow the Geneva accords as Ukrainian authorities continue to arrest activists in southeastern regions of the country and violate the rights of journalists instead of implementing the amnesty agreed upon.
Lavrov's remarks came a day after a series of violent clashes in Ukraine on Easter Sunday, when unknown gunmen drove by a checkpoint in the city of Slaviansk and opened fire at self-defense forces celebrating Easter. The Russian Foreign Ministry has said the provocation of the militants demonstrates Kiev's reluctance to disarm nationalists and extremists.
Eastern Ukraine has been swept by rallies since last month. Federalization supporters in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Gorlovka, Slaviansk and Kramatorsk refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian government and are urging interim authorities to hold referendums on greater autonomy.
