Trilateral Contact Group Calls to Enact Ceasefire Starting Wednesday
The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine (TCG) called for the parties in the conflict in the Donbass region to agree to a ceasefire beginning on December 23rd. The last meeting of the year between Ukraine, Russia and OSCE ended on Tuesday in Minsk.
According to Daria Olifer, Press Secretary for former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, "There is an agreement on a full and unconditional silence starting at midnight on December 23, 2015. This initiative is needed primarily for the civilians in the Donbass, so they can celebrate Christmas and the New Year in peace," wrote Olifer on her Facebook page.
After the meeting in Minsk, the OSCE representative, Martin Sajdik, showed the journalists a Christmas tree decorated with wishes for peace in Donbass. "We express our hope and expectation that the people in eastern Ukraine will be able to celebrate the New Year in complete safety and peace. They want to celebrate Christmas in peaceful conditions as well as live in peace in the future," Martin Sajdik said.
There is no progress on the issue of releasing prisoners, Sajdik said. The European diplomat noted the TCG will continue to work towards that issue in 2016.
According to Olifer, the cessation of large-scale bloodshed was the most important result of the work of the Trilateral Contact Group in 2015.