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Contact Group agrees disengagement of parties, cargo traffic in Donbass

Russia’s representative in the Contact Group says the meeting yielded certain results, positive shifts can be observed

MINSK, June 29. /TASS/. The Contact Group for settlement in the east of Ukraine has agreed new steps for the disengagement of the conflicting parties and the resumption of cargo railway traffic across the disengagement line in Donbass, Russia’s representative in the Contact Group, Boris Gryzlov, has said after a meeting in Minsk.

"Today’s meeting of the Contact Group has yielded certain results despite the complicated situation in Donbass," he said. "New steps have been agreed to disengage the conflicting parties. This is particularly important at a time when the security situation in the area of the disengagement line is alarming and fire attacks against Donbass continue."

Gryzlov kept quiet about the details of the decisions made at the meeting.

The special representative of the OSCE chairperson in office, Martin Sajdik, said that a certain document was being developed on creating twelve security areas along the line of disengagement. Gryzlov sees a way out of the situation in settling political and security issues in parallel and in conjunction.

"The sequence of their settlement must correspond to the package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk Accords," he said. "Violating it would be tantamount to ruining the basis the entire peace process rests upon. Peace is crucial to improving the humanitarian and economic situation."

"The latter remains grave," Gryzlov said. "But there have been positive shifts, too. The Contact Group’s efforts have restored cargo railway traffic across the disengagement line in Donbass.".