OSCE mission welcomes New Year ceasefire deal in E. Ukraine

The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) welcomed the deal to establish the New Year ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, reached by the Contact Group on the settlement, TASS reported on Friday. The special representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office in Ukraine and to the trilateral contact group, Martin Sajdik, and the chief monitor of the SMM, Ertugrul Apakan, issued a joint statement the previous day. “A meaningful, sustainable and long-lasting ceasefire requires that orders to cease fire are issued, discipline is maintained and the safe and secure access of the OSCE SMM throughout Ukraine is ensured in accordance with its mandate,” the statement quoted Sajdik as saying. “Promises made to people in eastern Ukraine must be kept.”