Press Statement of Special Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Sajdik after meeting of Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk on 18 September 2019

MINSK, 18 September 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 18 September 2019:

 “Like after our last meeting two weeks ago, I would like firstly to note the progress in the implementation of the TCG decision concerning the repair works on the bridge at Stanytsia Luhanska, where preparation for the restoration is successfully going on.

The current ceasefire agreed by the TCG, and in force as of 21 July 2019, is the most sustainable one since the beginning of the conflict. According to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, in recent days there have been several significant spikes in ceasefire violations. Therefore, I firmly remind the sides about their political responsibility and urge them to fully comply with their commitments.

Along with ceasefire and security issues, today the Security Working Group focused on the prospects of renewal of the disengagement of forces and hardware in Zolote and Petrivske. I hope that the sides will soon come to a consensus on this question, since in fact their positions are close to each other.

According to the Coordinator of the Security Working Group, Ambassador Yaşar Halit Çevik, the disengagement of forces and hardware, combined with broad mine action, is crucial for the civilian population.

The Humanitarian Working Group focused on the questions related to the exchange of detainees and the repair works of the bridge at Stanytsia Luhanska.

With the participation of ICRC representatives, the Economic Working Group, among other questions, paid particular attention to current water supply issues in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions as well as pension payments.

The Political Working Group focused on the discussion of the ‘Steinmeier formula’ and its place in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.”