Press Statement of Special Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Sajdik after meeting of Trilateral Contact Group on 7 June 2017

MINSK, 8 June 2017 – 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 7 June 2017:

“Today I would like to once again stress the importance of cooperation of all the signatories of the Minsk agreements in the field of security. This shall be a virtual priority of the TCG. Obviously, a comprehensive approach is required, implying cessation of fire, removal of heavy weapons, withdrawal of forces and hardware, as well as demining.

As an OSCE representative, I urge all signatories to promptly respond to all requests of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), in particular on the exchange of maps indispensable for demining. Otherwise, it will not be possible to ensure safety for the civilian population and for the entire OSCE SMM staff.

The Working Group on Security Issues also continued the discussion on the definition of new disengagement areas as well as zones free from heavy weapons.

I am happy to report that there is a positive development in the humanitarian field. Today, with the participation of the ICRC representative, the reconstruction design for the pedestrian bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska was presented.  This means that there are technical prerequisites for starting the repair works. At this stage, the formal consent of the Ukrainian side and certain areas of Luhansk region (CALR) is required for the implementation of this project. I call on the sides to swiftly confirm their support for this project and to promptly ensure the conditions for its implementation in complete security.

Intensive discussions continued on the mechanism to assess the free expression of will of detained persons with regard to their possible exchange. I really hope that next time I will be able to give you more details on this topic. Further steps depend on the goodwill of everyone involved in this process. I would like to express my special gratitude to the Ombudsperson of Ukraine Ms Lutkovska, and I hope that this process will be fully accomplished.

In the economic field, there is also positive news. The water supply to CALR was restored in connection with a payment delivered in late May. Agreement on the next payment has been achieved.

Also, the participants of the Working Group on Economic Issues discussed the urgent need to repair water supply infrastructure in Donetsk region and to ensure its safety accordingly.

Finally, the Working Group on Political Issues continued to deliberate on the issues related to the so-called 'Steinmeier formula' in the context of the discussions of the Oversight meeting of the Deputy Foreign Ministers of the Normandy format on 30 May 2017 in Berlin.”