MINSK, 4 May (BelTA) – The trilateral contact group on resolving the situation in Ukraine's east calls for keeping peace and quiet around the Donetsk filtering station, BelTA learned from the OSCE's special representative in the trilateral contact group on Ukraine Martin Sajdik after a regular meeting of the contact group and its subgroups in Minsk on 4 May.
Martin Sajdik said: “During the session of the subgroup on security Ambassador [Head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Ertugrul] Apakan drew attention to the situation around the Donetsk filtering station. Despite the guarantees the sides have given and reinforced patrols of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission the ceasefire regime still gets violated over there. Meanwhile, the station produces water for hundreds of people on both sides of the contact line. This is why once again I strongly urge the sides to provide all the security guarantees to personnel of the local water supply company and the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in order to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the station.”
The subgroup on humanitarian affairs continued discussing the exchange of prisoners of war and their detention terms. Martin Sajdik told media that the contact group had discussed the exchange of prisoners of war on that day but no progress had been secured. Attention had also been directed towards search for missing persons.
The subgroup on political affairs discussed matters concerning the implementation of the so-called Steinmeier formula. The subgroup coordinator, Ambassador Pierre Morel had underlined repeatedly that tight interaction with the “Normandy format” is crucial to success. “This is why I hope that after domestic political processes are over — they have just ended in one country and are about to end in another country — the Normandy Four will give a new political impulse to our work,” added Martin Sajdik.
