With regard to the detention of military observers from several western states near Slavyansk, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, we can provide the following report.

Russia is undertaking measures, within the framework of its possibilities, to resolve the situation which arose with regard to the detention of military inspectors from several states near Slavyansk. They were invited by the Ukrainian authorities on the basis of the Vienna document of 2011 on trust-building and security measures. We recall that according to that document the accepting party is fully responsible for ensuring the safety of the inspectors. Therefore, it would be logical to expect from the current Kiev authorities a preliminary coordination of issues of stay, activity and security of the inspectors, in the regions where these authorities do not control the situation and where a military operation against the population of their own country is ongoing.

25 April 2014