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Normandy Four leaders call for implementing ceasefire in Donbass before year ends

The leaders also "encourage the Trilateral Contact Group to facilitate the release and exchange of conflict-related detainees by the end of the year

PARIS, December 10. /TASS/. Participants in the Normandy Four summit in Paris have reaffirmed their commitment to implementing a comprehensive ceasefire in Donbass by the end of 2019, says a statement released by the Elysee Palace.

"The sides commit to a full and comprehensive implementation of the ceasefire, strengthened by the implementation of all necessary ceasefire support measures, before the end of the year 2019," the statement reads. The parties also highlighted "their shared aspiration to a sustainable and comprehensive architecture of trust and security in Europe, based on the OSCE principles, for which the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine is one of several important steps."

Ensuring security

The four leaders pointed out that "they will support an agreement within the Trilateral Contact Group, within 30 days, on new crossing points along the line of contact, based primarily on humanitarian criteria." They also supported "the development and implementation of an updated demining plan."

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"They will support an agreement within the Trilateral Contact Group on three additional disengagement areas, with the aim of disengaging forces and equipment by the end of March 2020," the statement added.

The leaders of France, Russia, Germany and Ukraine also "encourage the Trilateral Contact Group to facilitate the release and exchange of conflict-related detainees by the end of the year, based on the principle of "all for all", starting with ‘all identified for all identified,’ with the understanding that international organizations including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be granted full and unconditional access to all detained persons.

Political aspects

The four leaders expressed "interest in agreeing within the Normandy format (N4) and the Trilateral Contact Group on all the legal aspects of the Special Order of Local Self-Government - special status - of Certain Areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions - as outlined in the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements from 2015 - in order to ensure its functioning on a permanent basis."

"They consider it necessary to incorporate the "Steinmeier formula" into the Ukrainian legislation, in accordance with the version agreed upon within the N4 and the Trilateral Contact Group," the statement pointed out.

As a follow-up to the summit, the four leaders asked their foreign ministers and political advisors "to ensure the implementation of the agreements reached and they agree to have another meeting in this format within four months on the political and security conditions, inter alia for the organization of the local elections."

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