Mr. Chairperson,

The delegation of Ukraine warmly welcomes Ambassador Villadsen back to the Permanent Council and thanks him for the report on activities of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

As we constantly emphasize, Ukraine welcomes and supports the important role of the PCU as part of international efforts aimed at assisting Ukraine’s Government in advancing reforms to foster implementation of the OSCE commitments and to address the grave aftermath of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine.

We support the PCU’s activities in all three dimensions. At the same time the project activities of the PCU should be guided by priority of socio-economic field and aim at addressing the consequences of the armed aggression by Russia in Donbas.

The Government of Ukraine appreciates the close interaction with the PCU in its core activities in the fields of judicial and law-enforcement reforms, combating corruption, organized crime and human trafficking, enhancing environmental security, good governance, energy security, freedom of the media and electoral assistance.

Among other important undertakings, the Government of Ukraine attaches priority to the work in the field of psychological rehabilitation of population affected by the conflict as well as military servicemen, protection of IDPs, reconstruction of relevant infrastructure, monitoring and assessing the environmental impact, humanitarian demining and alleviating chemical hazards in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

We highly value the OSCE Project Co-ordinator’s involvement in realisation of much needed projects as utilization of the explosive remnants of war, assistance in demining in Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, which are vital for the local civilians suffering from the unexploded ordnance in daily life.

In implementing the programmes close cooperation should be maintained with the Ukrainian authorities. We remind that the so-called “strategic planning” is considered as an internal tool of the Secretariat and should remain such. The PCU’s activities should fully align with its mandate and project design should continue to be oriented at priorities of the Ukrainian Government in line with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Ukraine and the OSCE concerning the creation of a new form of co-operation of 13 July 1999.

As the mandate of the PCU covers the entire territory of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula, we strongly encourage support for projects that could help alleviate the plight of the people residing under the temporary Russian occupation.

We wish Ambassador Villadsen and his team every success in their future endeavours.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.