OSCE doesn’t support armed police mission in Donbas

OSCE member-states have expressed no support for an armed police mission to enforce the implementation of the Minsk Accords in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region, OSCE Chair Sebastian Kurz told the kurier.at news site in an interview published on Jan. 12. Instead, he proposed strengthening the existing special monitoring mission, including supplying better technical equipment for monitoring at night, in order to achieve a cease-fire. Kurz said he will consider proposing relaxing sanctions on Russia on a step-by-step basis in exchange for positive measures. 

Zenon Zawada: Few people were optimistic about the prospects of armed OSCE police being introduced in Donbas from when it was first proposed, including us. There are simply too many risks involved, particularly when the Russian government hasn’t demonstrated good will in fulfilling the Minsk Accords. The armed police proposal was among the few that had even a slight chance to create a breakthrough in the stalemate. We don’t see any other such opportunities on the table.