VIENNA, April 8. /TASS/. OSCE has called for an immediate setting of workgroups of experts to monitor the political, social, economic, and other aspects of the Minsk accords on peace settlement in Ukraine, said a statement the organization issued on Wednesday.
It was issued after a meeting of the Chairperson-in-Office, Ivica Dacic, Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, and the OSCE Envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group, ambassador Heidi Tagliavini.
They met in Belgrade to plan to plan further steps on settling the crisis in Ukraine.
"We fully support Ambassador Tagliavini’s efforts. Setting up working groups on security, political, economic and humanitarian aspects of the Minsk Agreements is now a priority," Ivica Dacic said. "I call on all sides to support their swift establishment and engage strongly."
"Working groups will help sides implement the Agreements as the only viable solution for achieving lasting peace," he said. "Political process is a necessity for re-establishing normal life in eastern Ukraine."
As Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Dacic said Serbia was committed to helping this process by supporting the work of the Trilateral Contact Group and the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission
Secretary General Zannier underlined the OSCE’s position as the only organization that could monitor security situation and verify the withdrawal of heavy weapons in a credible manner and he urged the parties to the conflict in the war-torn eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine to ensure safety and provide unfettered access to the OSCE monitors.
"The OSCE Mission and its staff have our full support in their efforts to deescalate and normalize the situation on the ground," said Zannier.
Ambassador Tagliavini said the Trilateral Contact Group continued to work on maintaining direct contact between all sides as an absolute requirement for the implementation of the Minsk accores.
Ambassador Apakan reiterated the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission’s commitment to monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons, which required full co-operation of all sides, he said.