You're reading: Ukraine signs resolution to disengagement of forces and weapons in Donbas (UPDATED)

The Ukrainian side has signed the Trilateral Contact Group's framework resolution in Minsk on disengagement of the forces and means of both parties to the conflict along the contact line in eastern Ukraine, says Darka Olifer, a spokesperson of Ukrainian representative in the group, former President Leonid Kuchma.

“Ukraine is consistently implementing the obligations assumed as part of the Minsk Agreements and is strictly observing the ceasefire. Furthermore, the Ukrainian side has signed the framework resolution to ensure the implementation of the Minsk Agreements by separate areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (DPR and LPR),” Olifer wrote on her Facebook page on Sept. 21.

The document envisages the relief of tensions in the area of the contact line and factually creates conditions, under which small arms cannot be utilized for shelling, she said. Besides, the framework resolution envisions the full implementation of the Trilateral Contact Group’s previous agreements to pull back weapons with a caliber of less than 100 millimeters from the contact line.

Under the framework agreement to disengagement of the forces and means the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission is performing “on a permanent basis, the monitoring and verification of the process to separate the forces and means on the negotiated sections of disengagement.”

“It should be underlined that this disengagement is planned only at three sections with the clearly set coordinates. Besides, the Ukrainian side thinks that while implementing this framework resolution the approaches to the likely disengagement of the forces and means along the entire dividing line can be put in practice,” Olifer said.

To avoid a frivolous interpretation of the parameters and the status of the dividing line, the text of the framework resolution stipulated that the document is endorsed to add on the protocol of Sept. 5, 2014, the memorandum of Sept. 19, 2014, the Package of Measures to implement the Minsk Agreements of Feb. 12, 2015.

A framework resolution has been signed by the envoys from all of the parties: from Ukraine – Kuchma, from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – Martin Sajdik and from Russia – Boris Gryzlov.