“Serbia, as the current OSCE Chair, coordinates negotiations on the extension of the mandate of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine by 12 months, rather than by 6 months, as has been the practice thus far”, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, First Deputy Prime Minister / Minister of the Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic said today in an interview for a Finnish television documentary film commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act.
“The negotiations should be completed soon, and the support that the Normandy Four and the EU give to the work of the Mission points to the valuable role played by this field operation”, said Dacic.

“The crisis in and around Ukraine has demonstrated that the OSCE is the best platform for overcoming the growing divisions and finding mutually acceptable solutions. It is the deployment of the two Missions to Ukraine, the SMM and the Observer Mission at the Russian Checkpoints of Gukovo and Donetsk, that represents the outstanding example of the OSCE’s ability to act collectively towards de-escalation of the crisis, even at a time of deep divisions”, the OSCE Chairperson concluded.