Almost 300 OSCE observers are part of a mission sent to gather information
Keystone
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) says a Swiss citizen is among the four observers it has lost contact with in the eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian militants are fighting Kiev government forces.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
The 57-nation Vienna-based OSCE, which is currently headed by Swiss President Didier Burkhalter, said the team comprising a Swiss, a Turkish, an Estonian and a Danish citizen were part of a mission sent to try and ease tension and gather information in the Ukraine.
The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed the information about one of its citizens.
During a routine patrol east of the city of Donetsk the monitoring team encountered a road checkpoint on Monday at around 6pm and did not re-establish contact, a Kiev-based spokesman for the OSCE mission said.
According to the Ukrainian foreign ministry and Denmark’s Minister of Trade and Development Mogens Jensen the observers are most likely being detained by pro-Russian separatists.
At the beginning of May, pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine held seven European military observers from a separate OSCE-linked mission for eight days.
The OSCE mission consists of about 282 people, including 198 civilian international monitors from 41 OSCE countries, according to the organisation’s website.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Burkhalter applauds OSCE hostage release
This content was published on
Burkhalter, who is also president of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), reiterated that the situation in Ukraine is likely to deteriorate further as government troops continued to clash with protesters in the east of the country. The seven OSCE military observers – four Germans, a Dane, a Pole and a Czech…
This content was published on
Burkhalter, who is Swiss president and foreign minister, said the number of OSCE observers could be boosted to up to 300 people. There are currently 121 OSCE representatives, including 85 observers, deployed in about ten cities in Ukraine. The situation in eastern cities of Ukraine remains tense and volatile, but the observer missions in the…
This content was published on
According to the foreign ministry, that roadmap consists of four main pillars: measures to end the violence in Ukraine, work towards disarmament, establishing a broad national dialogue and promoting elections set for May 25. Although the foreign ministry declined to provide further details, Reuters reported on Friday that the two-page roadmap document, which has not…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.