Events

MINSK, 11 July (BelTA) – Another round of negotiations on resolving the situation in Ukraine’s east has begun in Minsk, the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA.

Subgroups of the trilateral contact group on Ukraine are now meeting in Minsk.

During the previous meeting held on 27 June a statement was passed in view of the beginning of the harvesting campaign. While noting the importance of ensuring peace and tranquility for the population in the conflict zone, the trilateral contact group with a contribution from representatives of certain parts of Donetsk Oblast and Lugansk Oblast confirmed the full adherence to universal, lasting, and timeless ceasefire as from 1 July. The statement reaffirmed the complete and solid dedication of the sides to executing the Minsk agreements in full. The relevant supreme authorities were notified about the decision to cease hostilities.

During the meeting on 27 June the subgroup on economic affairs continued discussing further steps on restoring and improving Vodafone Ukraine mobile communication service in certain parts of Donetsk Oblast and Lugansk Oblast. Water supply matters and the payment of pensions were also discussed. The subgroup on humanitarian affairs continued discussing the exchange of prisoners of war and their accommodation conditions as well as search for missing persons. Allowing civilians to more easily cross the contact line was also mentioned. In particular, the possibility of properly repairing the approaches to the bridge in Stanitsa Luganskaya was high on the agenda. The subgroup on political affairs continued discussing the implementation of the Steinmeier formula, the amnesty, and the modality of municipal elections in certain parts of Donetsk Oblast and Lugansk Oblast.