OSCE to hold security talks on Ukraine Monday

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According to the Polish presidency of the European security group, the OSCE will conduct an emergency meeting of permanent representatives on Monday to discuss methods to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine.

Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told PAP on Sunday that the meeting has been called for Monday.

Anatoly Antonov, Russia's ambassador to the US, asserted Sunday that Russia has no intention to seize territory from other nations and considers the Donbass area to be part of Ukraine.

Antonov told CBS that "We are not trying to take any territory of a foreign country. I would like to confirm that Donetsk and Lugansk are part of Ukraine."

OSCE monitors have documented hundreds of artillery and mortar assaults in recent days.

The ceasefire violations came as the West repeatedly accuses Russia of attempting to invade Ukraine.

The self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) announced a general mobilization in the two republics.

Fearing military aggression by the Ukrainian government, both Donetsk and Lugansk began evacuating residents to Russia on Friday.

Poland's OSCE representative Adam Halacinski said on Twitter that Ukraine requested a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna to discuss the "rapidly deteriorating security situation."

"Its aim is to discuss everything that has happened in recent hours and what steps the OSCE should take in this situation in order above all to bring about a de-escalation of tension," Jablonski said. 

"We are using all available tools that are possible to use in order to avoid an armed conflict."