Press Statement of Special Representative Grau after Regular Meeting of Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk on 26 February 2020

MINSK, 27 February 2020 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Heidi Grau, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG ‎and its working groups in Minsk on 26 February 2020:

“Ceasefire is a key provision of the Minsk agreements. In this context, recent events are alarming.

Last week, we all witnessed an exceptional spike in ceasefire violations in the Luhansk region, including with the use of Minsk-prohibited weapons. Once again, the civilian population has paid a heavy price. It is unacceptable.

Referring to the TCG statements as of 17 July and 18 December 2019, I once again call on the sides to remain committed to comprehensive ceasefire.

Along with the general security situation in the conflict zone, the Security Working Group focused on the issues related to the definition of additional areas for the disengagement of forces and hardware. The sides dedicated a lot of time and effort to this issue, but it still requires further elaboration.

Mine action issues were also raised. I would like to remind you that mines are still the main cause of casualties among civilians – this year, eight out of 14 victims.

The Humanitarian Working Group discussed questions regarding the exchange of detainees, ways to ensure an effective search for missing persons as well as the possibilities of opening new crossing points across the line of contact.

The Economic Working Group paid particular attention to the issues related to pension payments and water supplies in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (CADR and CALR).

The Political Working Group focused on issues related to the special status of CADR and CALR as well as the implementation of the ‘Steinmeier formula’ into Ukrainian legislation.”