The Ukrainian side has proposed in Minsk intensifying the work of the Trilateral Contact Group to settle the situation in Donbas, said press secretary of the second president of Ukraine, the country’s representative in the group Leonid Kuchma, Darka Olifer.
“The trilateral contact group unequivocally supported the initiative of OSCE SMM Chief Erturul Apakan about the opening of the Zolote check-point on Oct.20, 2017. The corresponding decision of the leaders of the Normandy Four countries was passed a year ago, but the ORLO (areas of Luhansk region beyond government control) continue to block this issue,” she wrote on her Facebook page on Oct.4 after the group’s meeting in Minsk.
“The Ukrainian side suggests intensifying the work of the Trilateral Contact Group and working subgroups,” she added.
Also, in her words, within the economic subgroup, Russia’s representative recognized the need to pay the debt for water consumed in ORLO and “expressed readiness to participate in the development of a debt repayment mechanism in accordance with Ukrainian legislation.”
Overall, the security situation in eastern Ukraine is alarming, Olifer said. “A stable and full-fledged ceasefire is an essential condition for further efforts on humanitarian, political, and social issues,” she said.
“In this context, one of the important aspects is to return to the line of disengagement set forth in the memorandum dated Sept.19, 2014, under which Debaltseve should be under Ukraine’s control; the area of Kalmiusske, Kumachove, Novoazovsk, and Sakhanka should be freed from heavy weaponry; security zones should be provided along the Ukrainian-Russian border section outside Ukraine’s control,” Olifer wrote.
The Contact Group on Ukraine scheduled its next meeting for Oct.18.
