OSCE secretary general to visit Ukraine for peaceful settlement of conflict

KIEV - Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Thomas Greminger said Thursday that he plans to visit Ukraine in the near future, state-run news agency Ukrinform reported.

The OSCE secretary general announced the decision during the 19th winter meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and called for joint work to "maintain the momentum" for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"It is essential that we use every chance to achieve a peaceful settlement of the crisis in and around Ukraine. Now we have a window of opportunity to provide an additional, significant result on the way to the implementation of the Minsk agreements," he said.

Earlier this year, Edi Rama, OSCE chairperson-in-office and prime minister of Albania, paid a two-day visit to Ukraine and discussed the conflict resolution with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials.

It was Rama's first foreign visit as the OSCE chairperson-in-office, which reflects the great importance the organization attaches to addressing the Ukraine crisis.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine broke out between the Ukrainian government and armed pro-independence groups in April 2014. According to the United Nations, some 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then.