Following the death of an American OSCE observer in eastern Ukraine, the German government expects Russia to investigate the killing swiftly and completely, said deputy government spokesperson Georg Streiter at the government press conference.
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"The German Government expects Russia’s leaders to do everything possible to initiate an immediate and complete investigation of the incident and to ensure that those responsible are punished," stressed the deputy government spokesperson Georg Streiter at the government press conference on Monday, underscoring the Chancellor’s call on Sunday to those responsible.
On Sunday (23 April) a vehicle belonging to the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission was destroyed when it hit a landmine near Luhansk. An OSCE observer from the USA was killed in the blast, and several others were injured, including an OSCE staff member from Germany. Both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel responded immediately to the dreadful events in eastern Ukraine.
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her shock at the death of a staff member of the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission in eastern Ukraine. "Our thoughts are with the family and all staff members of the OSCE who are serving in the conflict region on behalf of the international community." She wished those injured in the incident a swift and full recovery.
The German government, continued the Chancellor, expects "that the parties to the conflict do all that is necessary to establish how this tragic incident could happen and who is responsible". The parties to the conflict must at last fully comply with the ceasefire that has long been agreed. Since 1 April another attempt has been made to enforce the cessation of hostilities agreed in Minsk in February 2015.
In her message the Chancellor pointed to the special responsibility of the Russian-backed separatists. They are "illegally occupying parts of the sovereign territory of Ukraine using violent means".