Speaking at the OSCE Annual Security Review Conference, C. Wallander, Special Assistant to the US President, stated, “Russia claims that the conflict in eastern Ukraine is ‘internal.’ Russia continues to supply personnel and equipment to combined-Russian-separatist military forces in Donbas. The OSCE and Ukrainian military have documented Russian shipments to combined Russian-separatist forces – shipments of sophisticated hardware that does not exist in Ukrainian arsenals […].We once again call on Russia to stop the violence and fully implement its Minsk commitments. Ukraine cannot be expected to make progress on the political elements of Minsk until there is sustained quiet on the line, pullback of heavy weapons, and unimpeded access for OSCE monitors – three commitments that Russia signed on to in February 2015, but which we still not have seen fully implemented. […] Despite Russia’s aggression in eastern Ukraine and its continued occupation of Crimea, Ukraine continues to make progress on reforms, bringing the country closer to fulfilling the dreams of those who sacrificed on the Maidan to set Ukraine on a European path. We welcome in particular the recent passage of judicial, energy, and corporate governance legislation as important steps in Ukraine’s reform program. We will continue to stand by Ukraine as it takes difficult steps to fight corruption, loosen the hold of oligarchs over business and politics, and build a modern, transparent, prosperous country for all of its citizens. […] We have been very clear with Moscow that sanctions will remain until Moscow fully implements its commitments under the Minsk agreements. Finally, we will not recognize Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea, and our separate, Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until that piece of territory is returned to Ukraine. Respect for the basic principles of international law, the Helsinki Final Act, and other OSCE commitments has not been universal to this hall; a reality demonstrated by Russia’s actions in Ukraine.”
