Kelin: OSCE extended the mandate on the border with Ukraine for a month
The decision to extend the mandate of the observation mission of the OSCE on the Russian border " Donetsk " and " Gukovo " one, but not at 3 months was motivated by a lack of funds to pay for the mission, told reporters the Russian Ambassador to the OSCE Andrey Kelin.
at the same time the U.S. Delegation, insisted on the extension of the mission's mandate, expressed in the environment regrets the unwillingness of Russia to agree to the extension of the mandate on the other border, which would entail the inevitable appreciation of the mission, and urged the OSCE Permanent Council to continue discussions on such information.
" We were ready to Express support renewal for 3 months, but also agree to extend for one month. This gesture of goodwill. Russia invites observers there and has the full right to determine where they will go and in which quantity. In substantiation of the fact that the extension was not on 3, and one month, our partners resulted in serious economic situation and the fact that currently not enough resources to allocate them for 3 months. In this and in truth there is some confusion as all the work of observers in Ukraine (and Russia) is currently on an extrabudgetary basis, " he added.
The U.S. delegation to the OSCE said on Wednesday that " finds worthy of deep regret " Russia's refusal to consider the extension of the territorial scope and the size of the mission." We urge the Permanent Council to keep this issue in focus and to continue discussions in order to extend the mission, sufficient for a true assessment of the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border ", - reported in the petition, circulated by the delegation of the United States. While the U.S. Delegation justifies his desire to make wider mission the need to provide supervision from the OSCE for the Russian-Ukrainian border in Accordance with the Minsk minutes dated September 5, providing for the supervision abroad.
Kelin said that the assumption that the reduction of the renewal term of up to one month caused by the desire not to end debate on the extension of the mandate, " close to the truth." He also noticed that any extension of the mission will require a lot of money With no guarantee of productivity." No logic in it. And the truth is haunting here the concept of distribution monitoring at other border both Ukrainian and Russian sides. It involves huge expenses. While its effectiveness is highly questionable, " said the Russian Ambassador.