Press Statement of Special Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Sajdik after Meeting of Trilateral Contact Group on 13 June 2018

MINSK, 13 June 2018 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG ‎and its Working Groups in Minsk on 13 June 2018:

“As you know, the Normandy Four Foreign Ministers meeting took place in Berlin the day before yesterday. The sides expressed their recommitment to the Minsk agreements and the peaceful settlement of the conflict. I am convinced that the activation of the Normandy Four at different levels will also give significant political impetus to our work here in Minsk.

Today I would like to note a few important trends. This year, to date, the number of civilian casualties has been significantly reduced compared to the similar period of 2017. The total number of casualties declined by 55%, and the number of fatalities by 37%. I want to say, however, that even a single casualty is too much. Regrettably, this year the number of child fatalities is bigger by one child compared to the last year; this raises my indignation. 

As regards the Donetsk Filtering Station (DFS), I am glad that all the repair works have been completed thanks to the security guarantees provided to the employees. I hope that in the future I will not have to talk again about the DFS in my briefings. 

This topic was discussed today in the Security Working Group. Besides, issues related to the disengagement of forces and hardware in the agreed disengagement areas were duly considered.

The Economic Working Group continued its discussion on the way to restore and improve the mobile communication of Vodafone-Ukraine in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (CADR and CALR). It was noted that more time and considerable technical investments are required to restore full-fledged high-quality communication services.

The participants also considered the issues of water deliveries in the supply systems "Karbonyt" and "Voda Donbassa".

The Working Group on Humanitarian Issues continued its discussion on the exchange of detainees as well as on the issue of missing persons.

Another important topic for the Working Group was the improvement of conditions for crossing the contact line via checkpoints, including the one in Stanytsia Luhanska. In particular, the repairs of the access pathway to the bridge on the northern bank of the Seversky Donets were discussed.

The Working Group on Political Issues further considered the implementation of the so-called ‘Steinmeier formula’, amnesty and modalities of local elections in CADR and CARL. As I have already mentioned, active interaction with the Normandy Four is of particular importance for the activities of the Political Working Group.”