MINSK, 5 October (BelTA) – The next session of the contact group on Ukraine will take place in Minsk on 18 October, OSCE's special representative in the trilateral contact group on Ukraine Martin Sajdik told the media on 4 October, BelTA has learned.
According to the diplomat, the working group on economic affairs discussed the water supply matters at the meeting on 4 October. The group also talked over the property of individuals and legal entities, the ways to repay debts to the former workers of the Ukrainian Railways in certain districts of the self-proclaimed DNR and LNR.
The working group on humanitarian affairs continued the discussion on the exchange of the persons detained as a result of the conflict. Coordinator of the group, Ambassador Toni Frisch, voiced his intention to visit Lugansk Oblast and detention centers on both sides of the contact line in late December. “The parties have made progress in repairing the access to the bridge in Stanitsa Luganskaya. However, this matter still requires a constructive and prompt solution,” stressed Martin Sajdik.
A lot of issues were on the agenda of the working group on security, the diplomat noted. In particular, the participants discussed the observance of the ceasefire, the withdrawal of forces and equipment, including heavy weapons, the protection of civil infrastructure and the creation of so-called security zones around them. The meeting also highlighted the possibility of opening a checkpoint in Zolotoi. “As it was noted, unfortunately, many issues remain unresolved,” the OSCE special representative stated.
