Agreement on joint patrols in eastern Ukraine not yet reached - OSCE
Representatives of Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and Russia in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) have failed to agree on joint patrols in eastern Ukraine, according to a report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, which was posted on the website of the organization on Thursday.
According to the report, Ukraine's representative in the JCCC, Major-General Oleksandr Rozmaznin, said that joint patrolling would only occur when there was a complete cessation of violence in the conflict zone, and only with the presence of OSCE observers.
Russia's representative, Major-General Alexander Vyaznikov, in turn, said that the Ukrainians and DPR and LPR representatives should carry out joint patrols as they were, according to him, the key parties to the conflict. In addition, he said, the Russians would not take part in joint patrols, although he added that if the Ukrainian side wanted Russian participation, there should be a formal invitation.
The report also notes that the parties confirmed that an agreement had been reached concerning the rotation of Ukrainian army personnel at Donetsk Airport.
