The administration of the State Border Service of Ukraine has discussed the conditions and agreed on a roadmap for launching a joint project with the OSCE Secretariat on combating illicit trafficking in arms, ammunition and explosives on Ukraine's state border, according to a statement posted on the official website of the State Border Service.

"The project will be aimed at increasing the capacity of Ukraine's national institutions in combating the illicit trafficking in arms, ammunition and explosives across the state border of Ukraine in the context of protecting Ukraine's national interests and combating constantly growing threats in the security sector," the statement says.

Representatives of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Fiscal Service and the National Police of Ukraine also joined the discussion of modalities of the proposed project with OSCE experts.

The sides agreed that at its initial stage the implementation of the project would include an analysis of the regulatory and legal regulation of issues related to possession, registration and movement of arms across the Ukrainian border, liability for crimes committed, the study of the technical component and capabilities of national law enforcement agencies, a review of institutional support for the prevention, detection and suppression of illicit trafficking in arms, ammunition and explosives, as well as an analysis of interagency interaction and international cooperation.

Representatives of the concerned ministries and departments of Ukraine agreed that participation in this project would improve interdepartmental coordination on countering the illegal circulation of arms, ammunition and explosives across the state border of Ukraine.