KYIV. March 2 (Interfax) - Russia must ensure the full access of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to all of Ukraine's territories not controlled by the central government and return to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC), European Council President Charles Michel said.
"We expect Russia to ensure the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has full access to the areas of Ukraine not controlled by the government. The Covid-19 pandemic must not be a pretext to further separate these regions from Ukraine. We also call on Russia to return to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination," Michel told a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Luhansk region on Tuesday.
He stressed that the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements is a path to peace and welcomed the important steps Ukraine has taken in that respect under the leadership of President Zelensky.
"A full ceasefire, more crossing points, and further de-mining would further improve the lives of people, on both sides of the contact line. The EU is ready to support these efforts. Unfortunately Russia has not reciprocated Ukraine's positive steps to implement the Minsk Agreements. That's why our economic sanctions against Russia will remain in place. Russia is a party to this conflict, and not a mediator," Michel said.
He called the continuing war in Europe a "shameful reality," with people still dying in the conflict and living in extreme conditions.
"I wanted to come here to highlight yet again how unacceptable the situation is and to meet those who do their jobs under extremely difficult circumstances. I also wanted to express again the EU's unwavering commitment to Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. We strongly support, with all available tools, the efforts in the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group to bring peace to the people of Donbas," Michel said.
The armed conflict in Donbas broke out in 2014 following a change of administration in Ukraine. As a result, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics uncontrolled by Kyiv were formed in a part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine on the border with Russia. The unrecognized republics are separated from the rest of Ukraine by a so-called contact line based on the Minsk Agreements.
The parties are conducting settlement talks in the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine. Settlement in Donbas is also being discussed by the so-called Normandy group, which consists of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France.