No breakthrough in work of subgroups of Contact Group on Ukraine — OSCE

MINSK, June 16. /TASS/. Working subgroups of the Contact Group on Ukraine worked constructively but saw no breakthrough, Heidi Tagliavini, the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine, said Tuesday.

Minsk talks do not justify DPR expectations despite certain positive steps

Denis Pushilin, a representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said a number of positive steps were made at today’s talks of the Contact Group but on the whole the meeting did not justify the expectations of DPR.

"Three working groups have held their meetings. We expected more. The sides need to determine their positions. Some positive steps have been made but it’s too little to settle the conflict and to declare truce, so to speak," Pushilin stressed.

Kiev sabotaging work of Contact Group on Ukraine

Vladislav Deinego, the representative of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) at the talks, said Ukraine is sabotaging the work of the Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in Donbas.

"In general, some positive steps have been made but we are not satisfied with the overall dynamics. Ukraine is not even slowing down but sabotaging the process," LuganskInformCentre quoted him as saying.

He said after subgroups’ meetings the Contact Group "analyzed and took into consideration information from the subgroups’ coordinators."

"A meeting of the Contact Groups and subgroups planned for June 23 is on the agenda," he said.

Earlier, Deinego told LuganskInformCentre that a final decision on a possible Contact Group meeting on June 23 would be taken at talks on June 16. He said the self-proclaimed republics hoped their draft amendments to the Ukrainian constitution would be considered at the JUbne 16 meeting.

The Minsk accords were signed on February 12, 2015 after 14-hour negotiations between the Normandy Four leaders (Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko) in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk. Concurrently, Minsk hosted a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukrainian settlement.

A 13-point Package of Measures on implementation of the September 2014 Minsk agreements in particular included an agreement on cessation of fire from February 15, withdrawal of heavy armaments, as well as measures on long-term political settlement of the situation in Ukraine, including a constitutional reform and decentralization in Ukraine and the establishment of working subgroups as priority tasks.

The subgroups focus on four areas: economic issues and restoration of facilities; refugees, internally displaced persons and humanitarian assistance; political issues; security issues.

The previous talks of the Contact Group and its subgroups took place in Minsk on June 2.

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