04:16 20.10.2016

Poroshenko says disengagement in Donbas to continue, occupied Debaltseve on the list

2 min read
Poroshenko says disengagement in Donbas to continue, occupied Debaltseve on the list

Normandy Four leaders have agreed at talks in Berlin that after disengagement in the three pilot areas along the contact line in Donbas is over, this process will continue in other four areas, including the occupied town of Debaltseve in Donetsk region, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"We've agreed that after the troops are disengaged at three preliminarily selected areas --these are Zolote, Petrovske and Stanytsia Luhanska, monitoring posts of the OSCE should be set up there to work 24/7. After that, we'll start talks on four other areas for disengagement," he said at a press conference after a meeting of the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia in Berlin on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian president said that the Ukrainian side had insisted that Debaltseve should be among the next four areas for disengagement.

Poroshenko explained that Debaltseve should be included in the list of the zones for disengagement, because "under the September 19 memorandum [signed on September 19, 2014, when the Minsk agreements were concluded, so-called Minsk I], this territory was under control of the Ukrainian armed forces as of February 12 [in 2015 when the Normandy Four leaders in Minsk endorsed a complex of measures to implement the Minsk agreements, so-called Minsk II]."

"And we think this will be a significant contribution to de-escalation," he said.

The participants in the Berlin talks reiterated the need for a full and immediate ceasefire in Donbas, Poroshenko added.

AD
AD
AD
AD