OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic condemned on Thursday the latest surge in violence in Ukraine and called for restraint and abstention from the use of force.

Dacic called on all parties to the conflict to return to the negotiating table, pursue a political solution through the Trilateral Contact Group and fully respect the Minsk ceasefire agreements.

According to the Chairperson-in-Office, this was the only way to bring an end to the suffering of innocent civilians, the press service of the OSCE informs.

Dacic was particularly concerned about the use of proscribed heavy weapons and the indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, which constituted serious violations of the ceasefire.

He also highlighted the importance of the safety and security of the monitors from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM).

Dacic condemned the continued restrictions on the freedom of movement of the monitors, which hampered the implementation and the monitoring of the ceasefire.

In its latest report, the SMM noted a steep increase in the number of ceasefire breaches at and around Donetsk airport as well as its inability to travel to Shyrokyne due to security reasons.

The monitors reported the eruption of fighting around the town of Marinka on Wednesday morning, which calmed down by the evening.