MINSK, 4 April (BelTA) – A regular round of talks to secure peaceful settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine is underway in Minsk, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Minsk is hosting the meeting of the working groups of the trilateral contact group promoting peace settlement in Ukraine,” the ministry said. The talks will be followed by a meeting of the trilateral contact group.
The previous talks on Ukraine were held in the Belarusian capital on 14 March. The trilateral contact group on Ukraine hailed a significant reduction in the number of ceasefire violations and the number of civilian casualties. One of the major issues under discussion at the Economic Working Group meeting was the operation of the mobile network Vodafone-Ukraine. With the participation of the representative of Vodafone-Ukraine, the Working Group continued to discuss practical steps necessary to re-establish and ensure mobile communication in certain areas of Donetsk and Lugansk regions. The participants of the Working Group discussed the issues of water deliveries in the supply systems "Karbonyt" and "Voda Donbassa", repayment of arrears to former employees of the Ukrainian Railways in certain areas of Donetsk and Lugansk regions as well as the return of freight cars currently located in the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine. The Working Group on Humanitarian Issues continued the discussion of matters related to the exchange of detainees. The participants of the Political Working Group exchanged views on the future implementation of the so-called ‘Steinmeier formula’, amnesty, local elections and the special status of certain areas of Donetsk and Lugansk regions as stipulated by the Minsk Agreements.