Trilateral Contact Group signs two documents in Minsk
The Trilateral Contact Group has reached an agreement on the development of additional documents aimed at the stabilization of the situation in the Donbas.
According to the OSCE Special Representative, Martin Sajdik, the Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of the conflict in the Donbas signed two documents during the meeting in Minsk. The first one provides for the identification and designation of mine fields and the creation of mine clearance maps for the Donbas. The deadline for this task is March 31st.
The OSCE Special Representative also stated that according to the documents signed, the territories directly adjacent to the crossing points at the line of contact, which are use for the movement of civilians along the roads leading to these crossing points have all mines removed as a matter of utmost urgency.
Demining will be coordinated by the Joint Center on Control and Coordination with the assistance of the Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE.
The second document includes a prohibition on military training with the use of weapons along the contact line in The Donbas. The prohibition will come into effect on Friday, March 4th. Sajdik also expressed hope that the practice of the exchange of prisoners in the Donbas would continue. "There were exchanges last week, I hope, they will take place in future," said the OSCE Special Representative. Leonid Kuchma signed the documents for Ukraine, Martin Sajdik for the OSCE, and Boris Gryzlov for Russia.
As was reported on the 3rd of March before the meeting of the Foreign Ministers in the ‘Normandy format’ in Paris by ZN.UA, Ukraine had several goals, the main one being to guarantee the OSCE access to the whole territory of the Donbas and to agree on its so called "three-phase" plan to reach the Ukrainian-Russian border.