"Under the auspices of the OSCE": will the West agree to an international investigation into Zakharchenko's murder

On Wednesday, September 5, in Minsk, a regular meeting of the contact group for the settlement of the conflict in the southeast of Ukraine took place. Exactly four years ago, on September 5, 2014, the signing of the Minsk Protocol on the cease-fire was held here. However, the last meeting was overshadowed by the fact that just a few days before it, as a result of the terrorist attack, one of the signatories of Minsk agreements, the head of the People's Democratic Republic of Belarus, Alexander Zakharchenko, was killed.

In this regard, the meeting of the contact group began with a minute of silence in memory of the leader of the self-proclaimed republic. At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation refused to pay tribute to Zakharchenko's memory, demonstratively leaving the meeting room.

In the course of further consultations, the Russian side demanded a thorough and open investigation into the murder of the head of the People's Democratic Republic under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

"The Russian delegation demanded an international investigation into the assassination of Alexander Zakharchenko. We insist that this investigation be as open and objective as possible, and proposed to organize a process of monitoring and monitoring the investigation of this crime on the basis of a contact group under the aegis of the OSCE, "the RF plenipotentiary in the contact group Boris Gryzlov told journalists.

"This crime must be uncovered. We will not tolerate the fact that terrorism can be a method of solving political problems, "Gryzlov said.

In his turn, OSCE Special Representative Martin Saydik assured the audience that he would soon raise the issue of the possibility of such an investigation. In this context, he also called on all parties to the conflict in the Donbass to make every possible effort to observe the ceasefire and avoid human casualties.

"Unfortunately, from the very beginning the conflict has caused too many victims. As chairman of the contact group, I will always do everything possible to avoid them, "Saydik said.

Prohibition of sabotage activities

Also in connection with the death of Alexander Zakharchenko, the representatives of the People's Democratic Republic proposed to supplement the current agreement on armistice between Ukraine and the self-proclaimed republics with an item banning diversionary and terrorist activities.

"In connection with an unprecedented act of sabotage, as a result of which the head of the People's Democratic Republic of Belarus, Alexander Zakharchenko, the signatory of the Minsk agreements, was killed, the delegation of the republic declared the need to supplement the" school "truce with a special control measure - a ban on sabotage and terrorist activities, and also to fix this proposal in writing" , - said the statement of the presidential representative in the contact group of Denis Pushilin.

The Russian delegation supported the proposed package of additional measures, including a ban on any acts of sabotage by the parties to the conflict, both on the contact line and outside it.

At the same time, Boris Gryzlov expressed the hope that these actions will contribute to the normalization of the legal space and the restoration of civilized dialogue between the parties to the conflict. During the meeting, this issue was not agreed, but Martin Saydik instructed the working group on security to work out the relevant clarifications for the next talks, which are scheduled for September 19.

"I hope we can make the appropriate decisions next time," Saydik said.

He also noted that the summer of 2018 became "the most peaceful since the beginning of the conflict", stating a decrease in the number of civilian casualties. According to him, this was achieved, among other things, thanks to a truce negotiated by the parties. Against this background, the delegation of the DNR presented a report on violations of the truce by the Ukrainian side.

And about. the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DNR, Natalia Nikonorova, urged the Kyiv authorities to stop delaying the negotiation process for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. She recalled that the law on the special status of the Donbass, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in the autumn of 2017, expires in October.

"Kiev needs to realize that there is nowhere to drag out the negotiation process - it is necessary urgently to begin work on preparing and agreeing with us the prolongation of the law on the special status of Donbass, whose validity expires in a month," Nikonorova said.

She also noted that Donetsk will adhere to the settlement vector fixed in the Minsk agreements and is the only peaceful way out of the bloody conflict today.

It should be added that on September 5 it also became known that in the near future the issue of holding elections of the head of the People's Democratic Republic and the parliament of the republic may be decided. This was reported by the deputy of the People's Council of the DNR Vladislav Berdichevsky.

Go to gallery page

"Customers and performers should be searched on the territory controlled by Kiev"

According to the first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee for CIS affairs, Eurasian integration and relations with compatriots Konstantin Zatulin, the Russian delegation in the contact group on the Donbas took the right step, asking for an international investigation into Zakharchenko's murder.

"I think this is the right statement. The demand will remain, but I am not sure that it will be possible to organize an international investigation due to the position of Western countries. In this case, it is necessary to involve other countries that are ready to take part in this, "the parliamentarian said.

Anton Morozov, a member of the State Duma's international affairs committee, told RT that, since Alexander Zakharchenko was one of the signatories of the Minsk agreements, and their execution "is put at the center of the international community," the investigation of his murder should be considered in an international format.

"It's not just one of the resistance activists, it's the head of the republic, so it's obvious that customers and performers need to be looked for in the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. It is impossible to do without the international community, "Morozov said.

The parliamentarian stressed that the assassination of Zakharchenko greatly destabilizes the situation both in the Donbas and in Ukraine as a whole.

In turn, the deputy director of the Institute of CIS countries, political scientist Vladimir Zharikhin in a conversation with RT stated that only one instance - the administration of the US president - can really influence Kiev, which is not interested in it.

"Of course, such a public investigation with the help of an international European organization would be useful, but I strongly doubt that they will even do it. They have been too often turning a blind eye to the violation of the Minsk agreements by Kiev, I think that they are not too interested to find out who actually did it. In this sense, I am a cautious pessimist, "the political scientist said.

"Already four years of experience shows that the OSCE is not an organization that objectively wants to understand the situation and help in the real achievement of peace," the expert added.

In addition, commenting on the proposal of the delegation of the People's Democratic Republic to expand the ceasefire agreement and the introduction of a documented ban on sabotage, Zharikhin noted that such measures would facilitate the settlement of the conflict, but doubted that Kiev would do it.