Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe: "Russia Must Withdraw Recognition of Donbas Separatist Independence"

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) strongly condemned Russia's approval of the separation and independence of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

On the 21st (local time), Helga Schmidt, OSCE Secretary General; Zbigniew Rau, Poland's Foreign Minister and this year's OSCE rotating chair; Margareta Cederfelt, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Chair; and Roberto Montella, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General, issued a joint statement urging Russia to revoke its decision.

They stated, "This approval will only escalate tensions and separate the people living in this region from other parts of Ukraine," adding, "Russia, like all OSCE participating states, has committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries."

In particular, they emphasized, "This measure violates international law and fundamental OSCE principles and contradicts the Minsk agreements," and "We demand that Russia immediately revoke this decision." The Minsk agreements were signed in September 2014 in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, under OSCE mediation, by representatives of the conflicting parties, including the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian armed groups, to achieve peace in eastern Ukraine.

On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Ministry of Defense to deploy Russian troops to the separatist republics in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to carry out peacekeeping duties.

President Putin instructed, "In response to the request from the head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Ministry of Defense is to use Russian troops to perform peacekeeping functions in the DPR until a 'Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance' is concluded." He issued the same order to the Ministry of Defense through the decree recognizing the independence of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR).

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