27 February 2015 - Joint press statement on Ukraine [fr]
Joint press statement by the Permanent Mission of Germany and the Permanent Mission of France following the Security Council briefing by the OSCE on Ukraine
After the Briefing to the Security Council by Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine and Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, the Permanent Representative of France, Ambassador François Delattre, and the Chargé d’affaires of Germany, Ambassador Heiko Thoms, issued the following press release:
“We welcome today’s briefing to the Security Council by Ambassador Apakan and Ambassador Tagliavini which was held upon a joint initiative by France and Germany. We commend the dedication of the Serbian OSCE Chairmanship, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), the Trilateral Contact Group and the OSCE Observer Mission (OM) and their promptness in supporting the implementation of the Minsk Package of February 12th. We reaffirm our trust and confidence in the work of the OSCE in Ukraine.
We note with satisfaction that the ceasefire is generally holding in many parts of Eastern Ukraine as indicated by the OSCE representatives. However, we are concerned about reports of continuing clashes in some locations. We take note of the news that both sides have started withdrawing heavy weapons and urge them to continue to do so according to the agreed timetable. Immediate, secure and unhindered access of the SMM is vital for confidence building and the verification of the withdrawal of all armed forces and military equipment. All signatories of the Minsk Agreements must provide the necessary information to allow for the successful implementation without delay of all measures agreed in Minsk on February 12th .
France and Germany believe that the Minsk package of measures offers a way forward to a comprehensive, sustainable and peaceful resolution of the crisis in Eastern Ukraine, in full respect of international law and OSCE principles. By unanimously adopting resolution 2202 (2015) on February 17th, the Security Council has taken on responsibility to monitor and assist the implementation of the Minsk Agreements and has endorsed the leading role of the OSCE in their implementation. It is important that the Security Council continues to monitor the situation regularly and receives regular briefings by the OSCE on the implementation of the Minsk agreements. We applaud the willingness of the Secretariat of the United Nations to give the OSCE mission all the support it needs to fulfill its mandate, including through the provision of experts and technical expertise, and we welcome contacts between the OSCE and the UN Secretariat in that regard.”