VIENNA, May 3. /TASS/. The agreements reached by the parties to the conflict in Ukraine on cessation of hostilities during the Orthodox Easter holidays have been successful as a whole, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier told a news conference in Vienna on Tuesday.
However, according to him, the security situation has deteriorated seriously in recent months, even though it did not dissolve into the stage of an open military confrontation.
He noted that during the celebration of the Orthodox Easter it was agreed to ensure the ceasefire, adding that the agreement has turned out to be successful, as the number of incidents dropped over the past three days. Zannier went on to say that over the past few months, the growing number of violations and systematic exchange of fire were registered in the Donbass region, including with the use of heavy weapons that should have been withdrawn from the line of contact.
Although no open military confrontation is seen in the region, the truce situation has deteriorated, the OSCE Secretary General pointed out. According to him, a number of initiatives aimed at improving the situation are developed. The proposed moves include removing the warring parties’ positions from the line of contact in Donbass. Zannier noted that in some cases the positions are so close to each other that skirmishes occur. He recalled that maintaining truce was a necessary condition for further steps, including the elections in the Donbass region.