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DPR leader signs deal on pullback of armaments with calibers of up to 100 mm

He called the agreement unconditional progress in overcoming the conflict in Donbas

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

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OSCE hails weapons withdrawal agreement as path to peace in Donbass

MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, has signed an agreement on withdrawal of armaments with calibers of less than 100 millimeters from the disengagement line in Donbas, whose text was initialed at a meeting of the Contact Group in Minsk on September 29.

"Today I signed the document fixing cessation of fire, and we will start implementing it within the established deadlines," the Donetsk News Agency quoted Zakharchenko as saying.

He called the agreement "unconditional progress in overcoming the conflict in Donbas."

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The agreement is in essence a supplement to the Package of Measures on implementation of the Minsk Agreements. Tanks will be the first to be pulled back, to be followed by artillery with calibers up to 100 millimeters and mortars. The first stage will last 15 days and the second stage 24 days. The pullback distance from each side is 15 kilometers.

The withdrawal starts from the territory of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), including Luhansk itself — Sector North. Then the withdrawal begins along the remaining disengagement line — part of the LPR and the entire DPR territory. This is Sector South. The entire process will take 41 days.

Signing of deal on armaments pullback means cessation of war

The signing of the agreement on withdrawal of armaments with calibers up to 100 millimeters from the disengagement line in Donbas means in essence cessation of war in the region, plenipotentiary representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) at the peace talks Denis Pushilin said.

"In essence, in my view, it could mean termination of war. As it will entail pullback of hardware to a required distance, in essence a buffer zone of 30 kilometers is established - each side pulls hardware back 15 km," the Donetsk News Agency quoted Pushilin as saying.

"Proceeding from that, it will be extremely hard to exchange fire, the Ukrainian side will find it very difficult to provoke our units," he said.

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