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OSCE to close Office of Project Coordinator in Ukraine

The OSCE mission started its work in Ukraine in 2014 but its mandate was not extended in late March 2022 as Russia had refused to support a consensus decision

VIENNA, July 1. /TASS/. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will close the Office of the Project Coordinator in Ukraine, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau and OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid announced.

"Regrettably, despite the overwhelming support from participating States for the continuation of the important work that the Project Coordinator has carried out for 23 years, no consensus on its mandate extension was reached due to the position of the Russian Federation," Rau said, as quoted on the OSCE website.

The OSCE mission started its work in Ukraine in 2014. However, its mandate was not extended in late March 2022 as Russia had refused to support a consensus decision. The OSCE secretary general said in early March that almost 500 observers from the organization’s Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had been evacuated from the country since the start of Russia’s special military operation on February 24.

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