As delivered by Ihor Lossovskyi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, to the 1156^th meeting of the Permanent Council, 31 August 2017

Mr. Chairperson,

We would like to take the floor to join other delegations in reiterating our sincere congratulations to the recently appointed Secretary General, Ambassador Thomas Greminger. We count upon your resolve and aspiration, Mr. Secretary General, in coping with the challenges brought to the European continent by the irresponsible attitude of one participating State towards the fundamental OSCE principles and commitments enshrined by the Helsinki Final Act.

We strongly believe that restoring mutual trust and confidence among the OSCE participating States, as well as achieving considerable progress in improving the overall security environment in Europe, would be impossible without bringing to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict provoked by the Russian military aggression against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of my country – Ukraine. We expect you, Mr. Secretary General, to make full use of all available multidimensional OSCE tools and mechanisms to secure the very foundations of our Organization undermined by the unwillingness of one participating State to uphold the commitments all of us have undertaken.

Restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders, including the de-occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and Russia’s withdrawal from Donbas region of Ukraine, will be a key milestone in that direction. The role of the OSCE SMM as a monitor in implementing the Minsk agreements as a part of this process should be further strengthened.

We wish you, Mr. Secretary General, every success in effectively fulfilling your mandate in this the most crucial period for the OSCE`s history.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.