VIENNA, October 21. /TASS/. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) intends to extend the work of its mission on the Russian-Ukrainian border for another three months, Russian Ambassador to the OSCE Andrey Kelin said on Tuesday.
The OSCE does not intend to increase the number of checkpoints where observers are stationed, Kelin told TASS. “The OSCE Standing Committee will gather for a special session in Vienna on Wednesday” to take a decision to this effect, he said.
The mandate of the mission “remains unchanged,” Kelin said.
The OSCE made a decision to send observers to the checkpoints of Donetsk and Gukovo in late July. At present, the mission, including about 20 people, monitors the work of these checkpoints round-the-clock.
Several OSCE countries proposed to increase the number of checkpoints where observers should be present. However, Russian diplomats said there was no such need because Russia “fully controls its part of the territory.”