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Contact Group confirms commitment to Minsk accords, says Russian envoy

The Contact Group for the settlement in eastern Ukraine has confirmed commitment to the Minsk agreements

MINSK, January 30. /TASS/. The Contact Group for the settlement in eastern Ukraine has confirmed commitment to the Minsk agreements, Russia’s envoy to the Contact Group Boris Gryzlov said on Wednesday.

"Participants in the Contact Group have confirmed that the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine is possible only on the basis of the Minsk agreements," the Russian envoy said.

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"The Package of Measures for their implementation was supported by decisions of the Normandy Format and a resolution of the UN Security Council. This is the only possible basis for the settlement of the conflict inside Ukraine," Gryzlov said.

The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising senior representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the European security watchdog OSCE on February 12, 2015, signed a 13-point Package of Measures to fulfil the September 2014 Minsk agreements. The package was agreed with the leaders of the Normandy Four, namely Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine.

The Package of Measures, known as Minsk-2, envisaged a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk starting from February 15 and subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of engagement. The deal also laid out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including prisoner exchange in the all-for-all format, local elections and constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.

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