VIENNA, 01 April 2022, (TON): It was not possible to extend the mandate of the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe because of the position of Russia.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau “this statement was made on Thursd-ay by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office.”

The mission’s mandate has been renewed annually for a year since 2014. On March 31, 2021, it was extended until March 31, 2022.

The current mandate expires at midnight. Rau, together with OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid, expressed their regret at the lack of consensus on the extension of the mandate of the OSCE SMM in Ukraine.

Rau said in a statement “I deeply regret that we were unable to reach an agreement to renew the mandate of the Special Monito-ring Mission due to the position of the Russian Federation.”

He said “over the past eight years, the mission has played a decisive role, providing objective information on the security and humanitarian situation on the ground and working tirelessly to mitigate the consequences conflict for the civilian population.”