Dacic: Ukraine faces critical moment

VIENNA - Continuous breaches of the ceasefire in Ukraine may lead to uncontrolled violence, says the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, adding that "this is a critical moment for Ukraine."

"I am concerned that the continuous breaches of the ceasefire, as reported by the Special Monitoring Mission, may lead to uncontrolled violence," an OSCE statement quoted Dacic as saying late Thursday.

"Once again I urge an immediate halt to any kind of activities that might put in danger the window of opportunity that the February 12 talks in Minsk created for peace," Dacic said.

All parties to the Minsk package had a responsibility to comply with the ceasefire as the basis for implementing the next steps envisioned by the agreement, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office noted.

"The only way forward is implementation of the Memorandum and Minsk Protocol from September 2014 and a peaceful solution of the conflict in Ukraine," Dacic said.

In Vienna, which hosts OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Winter Meeting, Dacic met with Heidi Tagliavini, his special representative in Ukraine and the Trilateral Contact Group, chief of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, and Paul Picard, chief observer of the OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk, who briefed him on their activities and the challenges in their work.

DACIC ANNOUNCES VISIT TO UKRAINE IN NEXT FEW WEEKS

Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic announced that he is planning on visiting Ukraine in the next few weeks, stressing that...