Minsk Accords Remain 'Best Chance' to Resolve Ukraine Conflict - OSCE

The Minsk peace agreements, being monitored by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), provide the primary means to resolve the Ukraine conflict, OSCE Chairman and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) —"We are still awaiting the complete implementation of their provisions by all sides [of the Ukraine conflict], but I remain convinced that the Minsk Agreements are still the best chance we have to overcome this conflict," Steinmeier said in testimony to the US Congress Helsinki Commission.

The Minsk Agreements were signed in February 2015 by both sides of the conflict in east Ukraine, as well as by Russia and the OSCE.

Steinmeier explained that the OSCE has played an important role in the Minsk peace process, noting a "significant de-escalation of the conflict" in east Ukraine, which he characterized as "progress."

The OSCE was tasked with monitoring the Minsk peace agreements, which include a halt in hostilities, the withdrawal of all heavy weaponry from the line of contact as well as constitutional reforms.