On May 26, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba met with OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid during her visit to Ukraine.

The parties discussed issues of principle and relevance for Ukraine related to the role of the OSCE in responding to the greatest security threat in the OSCE area, the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine.

"It is absolutely obvious that restoring trust on the European continent is impossible without stopping Russian aggression as well as without deoccupation of certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol," - the minister said.

Dmytro Kuleba and Helga Schmid paid special attention to the activities of the OSCE's largest field operation, the Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (SMM).

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister expressed gratitude for the work of SMM monitors in difficult security conditions, and stressed that the mission's mandate covers the entire territory of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

"Today, I asked the Secretary General that OSCE SMM to pay much more attention to the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea and to increase efforts on the Crimean direction," - Dmytro Kuleba said.

The Minister stressed the need for the OSCE to verify violations of the Minsk Agreements, monitor the uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian state border and the security situation in the Azov-Black Sea basin, and launch the remote SMM monitoring of the situation in Crimea.

The Foreign Minister of Ukraine stressed the importance of Ms.Helga Schmid’s visit to the Joint Forces operation area and one of the entry-exit checkpoints during her visit to Ukraine.

"I am convinced that the Secretary General will return from Donbas with a clear impression of the systematic and consistent efforts that Ukraine is making to end the war, save lives, and provide decent conditions for citizens who cross the line of demarcation," - Dmytro Kuleba concluded.