MINSK, 31 January (BelTA) - The talks promoting peace settlement in Ukraine have resumed in Minsk, BelTA learned from the Twitter account of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The trilateral contact group last met in the Belarusian capital on 18 January. Martin Sajdik, the OSCE's special representative in the trilateral contact group on Ukraine, said that the trilateral contact group on Ukraine remains the only permanent format for resolving the conflict in the east of Ukraine. The diplomat said he hopes that the year 2018 will be the decisive one for implementing the Minsk agreements.
During the negotiations in Minsk on 18 January the working group on humanitarian affairs spoke positively about the POW exchange on 27 December 2017. The group discussed the next steps, too. The working group on security affairs mentioned a considerable decrease in ceasefire violations during the festive season. The working group on economic affairs continued discussing payments for water delivery as part of the Karbonit system. The working group on political affairs continued discussing the implementation of the so-called Steinmeier formula. Apart from that, the law on Donbass' reintegration that the Ukrainian parliament had passed earlier was mentioned.
