MOSCOW, October 19 (RIA Novosti) - OSCE has refused Berlin's offer to monitor the situation in Ukraine with German drones, which have to be operated by the military, OSCE representative stated, Deutsche Welle reported Sunday.
"We welcome any offer of assistance from member countries of our organization ... However, the participation of servicemen is contrary to the mandate of our mission in Ukraine," the representative of OSCE said in Vienna.
Earlier, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced Bundeswehr’s readiness to send two UAVs and "armed escorts" to Ukraine to monitor the cease-fire in Ukraine under the auspices of the OSCE.
In April, Kiev launched a military operation in Ukraine’s southeast in response to the local residents' refusal to recognize the new Ukrainian government that came to power as a result of a February coup.
At a September 5 meeting in Minsk, a trilateral Contact Group, consisting of representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE agreed on a ceasefire. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on September 13 he had officially authorized the OSCE mission to deploy drones to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire in Ukraine.
