Deputy Head of Ukraine's Presidential Administration Valeriy Chaly has met with Chief of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine Ertugrul Apakan and discussed the activities of the OSCE mission in Ukraine and the progress of the Minsk talks.

"The sides discussed the activity of the OSCE mission in Ukraine. In particular, Apakan announced his intention to increase its size to 500 people in the next few months. This will significantly strengthen its effectiveness, including for the peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas," reads a statement posted on the website of the Ukrainian president on Thursday evening.

The sides also discussed the results of the last meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk. They agreed that there should be no delay in the implementation by all sides of the provisions of the Minsk protocol of September 5 and the Minsk memorandum of September 19. Chaly stressed the need to withdraw military equipment as quickly as possible and reach the line of contact, the coordinates of which are enshrined in the memorandum.

"The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration and the head of the OSCE mission also expressed hope that the negotiations taking place in Minsk would help free the hostages and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to residents of Donbas," the report says.

Chaly said that 26 trucks carrying more than 300 tonnes of Ukrainian humanitarian aid had left for Donbas and that they needed the assistance of international organizations, including the OSCE mission, for the transmission and distribution of this aid among the residents of the occupied areas of Donbas. Erdogan said that the mission was ready to assist in this matter.

"Apakan noted the high level of cooperation provided by the concerned ministries and agencies of Ukraine to the OSCE mission," reads the report.