OSCE Chairman: Crisis in Eastern Ukraine Should Be Settled Through Diplomacy

 The current Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter says that the differences between the government and opposition in the eastern regions of Ukraine should be settled by diplomatic means. “All parties concerned should realize that all issues under discussion should be resolved by democratic means and in compliance with the existing laws, not by the use of violence, in order to make the would-be solutions long-term and stable,” he stressed in a statement that was released today.

Commenting on the developments in Slavyansk in the Donetsk Region, where, according to the OSCE observers, the “current situation which is very tense at the moment may worsen”, Burkhalter urged the “interested sides to abstain from actions that can lead to the further growth of tension and the uncontrolled turn of events”.

Besides, he addressed the participants of the protest rallies, calling their attention to the fact that “it is necessary to show respect for the government monopoly on the use of force”.

At the same time, of great importance here is the fact that the law-enforcement bodies should give a balanced and adequate answer to the current developments, the Swiss Foreign Minister stressed, TASS reported.

Speaking at the session of the Permanent OSCE Council on April 10th, Burkhalter’s Personal Envoy to Ukraine Tim Guldimann said that the establishment of self-defense forces in the eastern regions of Ukraine was possibly explained by the lack of trust in the Ukrainian authorities and law-enforcement bodies.

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