OSCE investigates why their observer shakes hands with militants and salutes them (VIDEO)

The OSCE SMM is investigating why their observer happily shakes hands with the representatives of terrorists, salutes and embraces a man in civilian clothes among the militants, while the "LNR" militia transfers bodies of the dead Ukrainian soldiers. This is stated in the mission's message in response to the video footage of the meeting of the OSCE's SMM patrol and a group of militants.

"In response to the misinterpretation of the video materials, the SMM would like to clarify:

The man, whom the SMM observer was greeting, is a member of the organization engaged in exhumation, the transfer of bodies and the exchange of prisoners/detainees. The observer of the Mission has been cooperating with this person and organization since 2015, so that the detained participants of the hostilities could return home or that the grieving family could at least partially reconcile with the loss of the close ones", - the message says.

Meanwhile, the video clearly shows that the mission representative greets the "DNR" militants, and later with the words "Oh, dear" (in Russian) he embraces a man without military identification signs.

As for the salutation to the representative of the "People's Militia of the LNR" Andrey Marochko, the OSCE SMM think that this gesture is reflexive. "It's clear from the video how the observer made a mistake (internal work is being done to prevent it from repeating). It's a pity that all attention was focused on this reflexive gesture. This is an involuntary gesture of many who used to serve in the armed forces".

It is not specified, in the armed forces of which country the observer served, however he is able to communicate in good Russian.