MINSK, March 1. /TASS/. Members of the Contact Group on Ukraine have reached an agreement on the disengagement of manpower and materiel in the area close to Stanitsa Luganskaya, Viktoria Talakina, a spokesperson for envoy of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, said on Wednesday.

"The negotiators have been able to reach a number of agreements concerning the disengagement of manpower and materiel near Stanitsa Luganskaya and the situation with the Donetsk water purification station. DPR representatives expressed the hope that the agreements that have been reached will be implemented in the immediate future," she wrote on Facebook.

Talakina added that DPR envoy Denis Pushilin insisted during the Contact Group meeting on the need to withdraw heavy equipment from the line of disengagement. "It is the presence of heavy weapons that led to the exacerbation of the conflict, which means that returning the equipment to storage areas will help reduce tensions along the line of engagement, protect the lives of our citizens and our cities from merciless shelling by the Ukrainian army," he noted.

Boris Gryzlov, Russia’s envoy to the Contact Group on the settlement in eastern Ukraine, said the disengagement of manpower and materiel near Stanitsa Luganskaya is scheduled for March 7.

He noted that the participants in the meeting "discussed steps regarding the withdrawal of equipment from the line of engagement to storage areas." "The disengagement of manpower and materiel in Stanitsa Luganskaya is scheduled for March 7," Gryzlov said.

He added that measures to ensure safety at the Donetsk water purification station had been discussed as well.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Contact Group’s four working subgroups - security, political, economic and humanitarian ones - held talks in Minsk.

The next meeting is scheduled for March 15.