The OSCE should send observers to Ukraine “immediately”, the US envoy said as the pan-European organisation on Monday discussed sending such a mission at a special meeting in Vienna.
 
Swiss President Didier Burkhalter, holder of who the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s rotating presidency, on Monday also urged Ukraine to invite the body to send observers.
 
“We call today for OSCE observers to be sent immediately to Ukraine,” US ambassador Daniel Baer said in a speech, the text of which was released on Monday.
The move would “monitor and prevent conflict; ensure the protection of human rights of members of minorities; prevent border conflict; promote respect for territorial integrity; and to maintain peace, stability and security in the region.”
His comments were made at an OSCE Preparatory Committee Meeting on Ukraine on Sunday afternoon in Vienna, followed Monday by a gathering of the OSCE Special Permanent Council, attended by the top US diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland.
This followed a call on Sunday by the head of the NATO military alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, for international observers to be dispatched — either under the auspices of the UN Security Council or the OSCE.