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‘Normandy Four’ leaders hail progress in withdrawal of heavy weapons in Donbass

Merkel, Putin, Hollande, and Poroshenko were also unanimous on the importance an exchange of refuges and deliveries of humanitarian aid in cooperation with International Red Cross
Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko  EPA/ТАСС/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko
© EPA/ТАСС/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

BERLIN, March 3. /TASS/. Leaders of the ‘Normandy Four’ countries have hailed progress in observance of the ceasefire regime and in the pullout of heavy weapons from the areas of combat operation in southeastern Ukraine, Steffen Seibert, the German government’s official spokesman said on Monday.

German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko were unanimous in their conviction that the European security organization OSCE should play a more important role in supervision over the ceasefire and weaponry pullout, Seibert said.

He stressed their request to the OSCE to publish a daily status report on Donbass.

Merkel, Putin, Hollande, and Poroshenko were also unanimous on the importance an exchange of refuges and deliveries of humanitarian aid in cooperation with International Red Cross, Seibert said.

As long as all the requirements are fulfilled, special workgroups, the setting up of which was discussed at the February 12 marathon talks on Minsk, should be created to oversee the implementation of other tasks, for instance, preparations for local elections.

Further implementation of the objectives that were the subject of discussions between the four presidents will be considered on Friday at a meeting at the German foreign ministry where high-rank representatives of the four countries will take part.