During the OSCE Troika Ministerial Meeting held at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OSCE Troika – Serbia, Switzerland and Germany, exchanged views on the situation in and around Ukraine. The meeting was attended also by OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier.

Grave concern was expressed over the growing violence in Eastern Ukraine and the escalation of military activities and an indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in populated areas were most strongly condemned.
The Ministers called upon all parties to the conflict to cease all hostilities without delay and to go back to the negotiating table. They underlined the indispensable need to continue consultations within the Trilateral Contact Group on the ways and means of ensuring a viable
ceasefire and full implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum, signed in September 2014. They underlined that these two documents continue to be the foundations for the peaceful resolution of the crisis.
The OSCE Troika expressed its full support to the work of the OSCE executive structures in Ukraine, particularly the Special Monitoring Mission and the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini. They called upon all parties to fully respect and ensure the safety and security of monitors of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine. The Ministers expressed their support for the extension of the SMM mandate and its appropriate and sustainable financing.
The three Ministers stated: “All parties must take a constructive and pragmatic approach and demonstrate their will to progress towards a peaceful solution to the conflict. They should take full responsibility in order to put an immediate end to the vicious cycle of violence causing civilian casualties and a grave humanitarian situation.” Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, who chaired the OSCE last year, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmayer, who will assume the OSCE Chairmanship in 2016, expressed their support for the efforts of the current OSCE Chairperson-in-Office/Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic.
The Ministers called upon all parties to redouble their efforts in order to reach a political solution and prevent the further plight of innocent civilians. They also supported the proposal aimed at prompt reaching of a temporary ceasefire in parts of Eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Debaltseve area, so as to create conditions for the evacuation of civilians.
Speaking about the Helsinki+40 process launched with the aim of commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the Helsinki Final Act, the key founding document of the OSCE, members of the OSCE Troika underlined that against the backdrop of the worst crisis of European security since the end of the Cold War, it was necessary to swiftly re-establish the spirit of cooperation and strengthen the OSCE ability and capacity to address the threats to European security effectively.