The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, Miroslav Lajčák, welcomed yesterday’s OSCE Permanent Council decision to renew the mandate of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) by another year, and called for continued support for the international monitors and national staff on the ground.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the women and men of the Mission, who – for five years now – have been working every day, under challenging circumstances, to carry out their crucial tasks as the principal and largest international monitoring presence on the ground. They deserve our gratitude and our support,” Mr. Lajčák said. “The monitors are the eyes and ears of the organization – and indeed, of the international community – and they directly contribute to the prevention of further escalation,” he added.

Source: OSCE