First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic met today, in his capacity as OSCE Chairperson‐in‐Office, with Ambassador Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the US State Department, who is visiting the Republic of Serbia within her tour of the region.

Activities undertaken by the Organization for Security and Co‐operation in Europe aimed at de‐escalating the crisis in and around Ukraine were on the agenda. Minister Dacic pointed out that coming to a generally acceptable solution, restoration of peace and a gradual normalization of the situation through continuation of the dialogue within the OSCE remained top priority, both for the Republic of Serbia and for him as the OSCE Chairman‐in‐Office.

The Serbian OSCE Chairmanship coordinates the efforts of all OSCE mechanisms, whose Special Monitoring Mission is the only international field presence, and the Trilateral Contact Group with the participation of the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson‐in‐Office is the only forum bringing to the table all opposing parties under its auspices.

“We are striving to ensure, with the support of our international partners, that the ceasefire is observed on the ground and that there is progress in the political negotiations to put an end to the crisis”, Minister Dacic said.

Ambassador Nuland said that now that the OSCE was undergoing its renaissance, the Republic of Serbia, as the country holding the Chairmanship, enjoyed full support of the United States of America in its efforts aimed at restoring peace in the Ukrainian territory, with full respect for and implementation of the Minsk Agreements.