OSCE Monitoring Mission in Ukraine Visits Debaltseve - Spokesman

According to OSCE's SMM spokesman, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe monitors visited Debaltseve after receiving security guarantees from pro-independence forces.

KIEV (Sputnik) — The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) special monitoring mission in Ukraine was able to visit the embattled town of Debaltseve after receiving security guarantees from local militia, the mission's spokesman said Saturday.

"We gained access to Debaltsevo… We received security guarantees from the militia, which offered us the chance to have presence there," Michael Bociurkiw told Ukraine's 112 television channel.

The OSCE SMM remains shut out from certain parts of southeastern Ukraine and calls on the parties in conflict to observe the ceasefire, the mission's spokesman said.

"I would like to say that SMM continues urging adherence to the ceasefire across the entire territory [of southeast Ukraine] and allow SMM access to all territories, because we do not yet have access to all areas," Bociurkiw said.

On Friday, Vladislav Deinego, chief peace negotiator of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, told RIA Novosti that independence forces would provide secure access to the OSCE mission "where there are no attacks."

According to Deinego, the OSCE submitted its application, which the mission described earlier as prior notification, to visit the embattled town of Debaltseve on February 22.