Press Statement of Special Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Sajdik after Meeting of Trilateral Contact Group on 5 June 2019

MINSK, 5 June 2019 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG ‎and its Working Groups in Minsk on 5 June 2019:

“Six weeks have passed since the previous TCG meeting. This interval in our work, caused by the well-known political changes in Ukraine, was nevertheless needed and useful.

I would like to note the constructive discussions of today's meetings both in the TCG and its Working Groups. This is encouraging.

I am very pleased that Leonid Danilovich Kuchma, the second President of Ukraine, has returned to our circle.

I also welcome the appointment of Ms. Valeriya Lutkovska as the representative of Ukraine in the Humanitarian Working Group. As Ombudsperson, she has previously participated in the Working Group meetings and is well acquainted with its work.

Moreover, there was a change in our team. Ambassador Yaşar Halit Çevik succeeded Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan in the position of Security Working Group Co-ordinator.

I personally know Ambassador Çevik from our work at the UN in New York and I am very pleased to co-operate with him here, too.

Seizing this opportunity, I deeply commend Ambassador Apakan for his tireless efforts, especially towards cessation of fire in the conflict area and protection of civilians. In his position as Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, Ambassador Apakan did his utmost to mitigate the consequences of the conflict and contribute to the achievement of peace.

Now about the results in the Working Groups.

The Security Working Group discussed the prospects of a recommitment to the ceasefire. The sides also expressed their intention to launch the disengagement of forces and hardware in the agreed area at Stanytsia Luhanska on 10 June 2019. That would be real progress.

The Humanitarian Working Group continued discussions related to the exchange of detainees. In addition, with the participation of ICRC representatives, a detailed exchange on the search for missing persons took place.

The Economic Working Group focused on the consideration of current water supply issues in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on both sides of the contact line.

The Political Working Group took forward its exchanges on its well-known agenda, namely the implementation of the ‘Steinmeier formula’, amnesty and the modalities of local elections in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”