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Ukraine’s foreign ministry says it looks at no alternative formats to Minsk agreements

The Minsk agreements are the basis that paves the way to de-escalation, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yevgeny Perebeinos says

© Stepan Petrenko/TASS

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Ukraine president says Kiev intends to observe Minsk agreements

KIEV, November 25. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry is looking at no alternatives to the Minsk agreements, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yevgeny Perebeinos said on Tuesday.

“We are looking at no new formats. The Minsk agreements are the basis that paves the way to de-escalation,” he said.

The parties to the Ukrainian conflict agreed on a ceasefire at the OSCE-mediated talks on September 5 in Belarusian capital Minsk two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed his plan to settle the situation in the east of Ukraine. The ceasefire took effect the same day but reportedly has occasionally been violated.

On September 19 in Minsk, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE adopted a memorandum outlining the parameters for the implementation of commitments on the ceasefire in Ukraine laid down in the Minsk Protocol of September 5. The document contains nine points, including in particular a ban on the use of all armaments and withdrawal of weapons with the calibres of over 100 millimeters to a distance of 15 kilometers from the contact line from each side. The OSCE was tasked with controlling the implementation of memorandum provisions.

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