Hope floats in Minsk: Contact group on Ukraine to discuss prisoner swap, weapons removal
The working groups of the Trilateral Contact Group on the situation in Ukraine will meet in Minsk on June 2, news agency Ukrinform reports citing Heidi Tagliavini, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Representative.
The OSCE special envoy, however, declined to say whether the situation surrounding two Russian citizens earlier detained in Ukraine would be addressed in Minsk.
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The possibility of an ‘all for all’ exchange of captives in the south-east of Ukraine will be on the agenda of a meeting of the trilateral Contact Group’s sub-groups in Minsk, she said. The OSCE representatives are expected to coordinate the activity of the special working sub-groups. According t Heidi Tagliavini, a political sub-group should agree on the format and the date of the elections in the temporarily occupied territory of Donbas in accordance with the Ukrainian law.
Last week President of France Francois Hollande and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel urged Russian President Putin to exert influence on militants during a telephone conversation. The both recalled that the preparation for local elections must be ‘held in compliance with the current legislation of Ukraine’.
The demilitarization of Ukraine’s former resort city of Shyrokyne near Mariupol and the removal of weapons over 100 mm caliber – mortars and tanks – from the frontline, segodnya.ua reports with reference to former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, who represents Kyiv at the meeting.
Meanwhile, the press center of the Ukrainian army’s operation in the south-east accused separatists of again opening fire on positions held by the Ukrainian army in all parts of Donbas starting from 6:00 p.m. on June 1. The militants were allegedly firing mortars and artillery weapons with a caliber of over 100mm against the localities of Pisky, Mariyinka, Opytne, Vodyane, the press center claimed on its Facebook account on Tuesday morning.
On Monday four Ukrainian soldiers and 1 civilian were killed during shelling Shyrokyne.
