MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. The OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk at the Russian-Ukrainian border was a major instrument of trust-building and impartially fulfilled its mandate, which expired on September 30, Ambassador Gyorgy Varga, Chief Observer of the OSCE Observer Mission said in an interview with TASS.
"The mandate was, under the principles of impartiality and transparency, to report on the situation at the Russian border checkpoints of Donetsk and Gukovo, as well as on the movements across the Russian-Ukrainian border," he said. "Since I took office, and well before that, the Mission fulfilled its mandate, uninterrupted."
"The Observer Mission has been an important confidence-building measure for more than seven years and its uninterrupted presence at the two border checkpoints has been an important element of the OSCE’s response to the crisis in and around Ukraine," he stressed.
According to the chief observer, the mission has done its utmost to ensure the OSCE’s presence on the section of the Russian-Ukrainian border, which is not controlled by Kiev. "From 29 July 2014 until 30 September 2021, we have not left both checkpoints for a minute. We have observed and reported on the situation and the cross-border movements in an impartial and transparent manner. Our reports have been made available to the 57 participating States and the public in English and Russian," he said.
Constructive cooperation with the Russian side
He noted that the mission maintained regular working contacts with Russia’s central and regional authorities. "I also developed positive working relationships at the local government level, including with the Mayor of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky and the Head of the city police. These officials were regularly informed about the main processes in the Mission, including on the regular mandate renewals. A police escort accompanied the observer teams from the Head Office to the checkpoints and back," he explained.
He also recalled that the Russian side had supported the mission’s observers amid the coronavirus pandemic and offered a possibility to get vaccinated. "Regular working contacts with the city hospital also ensured the necessary level of medical services, and the Mission received full support in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Earlier this year, 80% of the Mission members were vaccinated with the vaccine offered by the host country. I am very grateful for the support provided by the city hospital and Rospotrebnadzor (Russia’s sanitary watchdog - TASS)," Varga said, adding that despite the pandemic-related difficulties, the mission never stopped its work.
"First and foremost, it required us to take additional safety and mitigation measures, such as adhering to social distancing. However, we have still been able to continue to fulfil the Mission’s mandate without any limitations in observation and reporting activities," he said.
Rostov region’s hospitality
Speaking about his stay in Russia, he recalled that in 2001-2005 he had worked as deputy head of Hungary’s embassy in Moscow. "Therefore, I have many memories associated with Russia, both from the capital and from the regions, in connection with the last almost four years of stay in your city. Kamensk-Shakhtinsky is a small but beautiful city with pleasant and hospitable people. We wish them prosperity and express our gratitude for the hospitality during more than seven years of our stay in the city," he noted.
Expiration of the mission’s mandate
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich said at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on September 2 that Russia saw no grounds to extend the observer mission’s mandate after its expiration on September 30, 2021. He said this decision was not subject to revision.
Russian Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesperson Alexei Zaitsev noted that the extension of the mission’s mandate was inexpedient, since the presence of the OSCE observers "was used by a number of countries as a pretext to fan confrontation," and o advance "more and more aggressive and absurd demands" to Russia. He recalled that the mission had been deployed in the summer of 2014 as a manifestation of Moscow’s good will. The move, in his words, was geared to prompt Ukraine’s authorities to opt for a path of peaceful settlement in Donbass.