Position of the MFA on the incident affecting a patrol of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine
24 April 2017 NewsThe Republic of Bulgaria is deeply concerned about the tragic death of an observer of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, who lost his life as a result of a mine explosion near Lugansk. We extend our condolences to the family of the victim and we express our solidarity with the injured members of the SMM team. We call for a thorough and impartial investigation into this incident.
We are seriously concerned by the deteriorating security situation, the restrictions on SMM access and freedom of movement and any attempts to delegitimize its work in the eyes of the public. The following poses a threat to the life and limb of the observers, which is utterly unacceptable.
The Republic of Bulgaria will continue to support the OSCE SMM, which has a key role in the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the progress of the peace process.
There are 34 Bulgarian nationals participating in the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, of whom 15 are deployed in the Lugansk Region. To date, we have no information of injured Bulgarian citizens in the particular incident.