Press Statement by the Trilateral Contact Group

BELGRADE, 9 January 2015 - Following consultations of senior representatives of four Ministries of Foreign Affairs within the so-called Normandy format of 5 January 2015 in Berlin, and anticipating the possibility of discussions on the conflict in eastern Ukraine at a planned summit meeting in Astana on 15-16 January 2015, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), consisting of senior representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, met on 8 and 9 January, and held another round of consultations with representatives of the certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the form of a video-conference on 9 January 2015.

The agenda covered:

• Implementation of the Minsk Protocol and the Minsk Memorandum of 5 and 19 September 2014 respectively, with a special focus on the establishment of a sustainable cease-fire;
• Release of remaining hostages and illegally detained persons;
•  Humanitarian assistance to the crisis affected areas in eastern Ukraine;
• Economic and social issues.

The work on these issues will continue.