Efforts to setting peace in Donbas
Minsk is hosting a meeting of the working subgroups of the Trilateral Contact Group on resolving the situation in Ukraine's east.
The previous meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group took place in Minsk on 26 February. Apart from the overall situation in conflict zone, the subgroup on security considered proposals of the parties to choose additional areas for separating forces and assets as well as mine clearance efforts. The subgroup on economic affairs focused on the payment of pensions and matters of water supply in certain areas of Donetsk Oblast and Lugansk Oblast. The subgroup on political affairs discussed matters regarding the special status of these areas as well as the implementation of the Steinmeier formula into the Ukrainian legislation. The subgroup on humanitarian affairs considered exchange of detainees and ways to ensure effective search for missing persons. The possibility of opening new checkpoints at the contact line was also on the agenda.
The contact group in Minsk has a week to determine people for exchange between Ukraine and occupied Donbas and the areas for disengagement of forces as TASS reported citing Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Russia Dmitry Kozak.
“We agreed to maximally concentrate during the week on the definition of all people who should be released mutually…Until March 25, it is necessary to verify all people who are ready to participate in this exchange,” Kozak said.
According to him, the sides of the conflict in Donbas have agreed to define new areas for the disengagement of forces along the contact line during a week.
Moreover, Kozak reported that the contact group in Minsk decided to finally agree on the mechanism of the settlement of Donbas Conflict during the next meeting.
However, representative of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic in the task group on security Oleksiy Nikonorov stated that during the meeting in Minsk, the Ukrainian side did not offer any renewed variants concerning the potential areas for disengagement as TASS reported.
Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine is now putting effort so that the next round of prisoners exchange would take place this month.
Crimean Tatars, included in the list for the possible future prisoners’ exchange, may refuse to participate in it if they will be swapped for ‘bandits’ as Hromadske radio reported citing leader of Crimean Tatar people, MP Mustafa Dzhemilev.
“We have got the list from the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) for confirmation. And soon, they plan to exchange people at all costs. But we defined the priorities for ourselves: people with the longest terms should be exchanged, for example, 17-18 years and due to the state of health. The lists are ready but Russia does not hold talk about it,” he said.
Dzhemilev stated that the Russians are strongly against the release of Crimean Tatars.
“We have quite idea people there. If they know that they are exchanged for bandits, they may refuse from it. With the help of Erdogan, we have released Akhtem Chyigoz and Ilmi Umerov. Erdogan told us that he asked Putin to release them and later it turned out that Turkey was forced to turn over two terrorists who killed Chechen dissidents in the territory of Turkey. They are professional killers, GRU officers. And Umerov and Chyigoz said: “If we knew at what cost it took place, we would not be released”. That is why some unpleasant issues may appear for the Ukrainian authority if people will come and say: “Why have you released us?,” Dzhemilev said.
Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine is now putting effort so that the next round of prisoners exchange would take place this month.
