UKRAINE-CRISIS/TALKS-REBELS Rebel envoys in Minsk say agreement reached on weapons withdrawal

Record ID: 146444

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/TALKS-REBELS Rebel envoys in Minsk say agreement reached on weapons withdrawal
  • Date: 21st July 2015
  • Summary: MINSK, BELARUS (JULY 21, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PRESIDENT HOTEL, VENUE FOR CONTACT GROUP TALKS SIGN READING (English): 'PRESIDENT HOTEL' REPRESENTATIVE OF SELF-PROCLAIMED DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC, DENIS PUSHILIN AND REPRESENTATIVE OF SELF-PROCLAIMED LUHANSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC, VLADISLAV DEINEGO WALKING TOWARDS MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) REPRESENTATIVE OF SELF-PROCLAI
  • Embargoed: 5th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belarus
  • Country: Belarus
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9Q0SMP0WNM9NMWZC52OSVVXY
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Envoys of Ukraine's pro-Russian separatists in Minsk said on Tuesday (July 21) a preliminary agreement has been reached to extend a pull-back of weapons in east Ukraine to include tanks and smaller weapons systems.
    Under a ceasefire agreement brokered in Minsk, Belarus, in February, weapons of over 100 mm calibre are meant to have already been withdrawn, but both sides accuse the other of continuing to use heavy artillery and casualties are reported almost daily.
    The latest agreement on lighter weapons was reached at a meeting of the so-called "contact group" involving Ukraine, Russia and the separatists under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
    Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's Donetsk region claim to be pulling back tanks and military hardware from the conflict contact line since Sunday (July 19).
    Senior rebel commander Eduard Basurin has said that he expects Kiev to uphold its part of the agreement.
    After the new round of talks in the Belarussian capital the envoy of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, said the recent activity of separatists had been taken into account.
    "Today there is indeed something to boast about in terms of progress and today an agreement has been reached on the document about the withdrawal of military equipment less than 100 mm in calibre. We are confident that our initiative on arms withdrawal from the contact line influenced this, contributed to the intensification of this process. We hope this document will be signed soon. And there is serious understanding in terms of the economic group."
    But there was little progress on political reform, said the representative of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, Vladislav Deinego.
    "There is serious stagnation in the work of the political group. The reason is that Ukraine is behaving in an absolutely non-constructive manner in this respect. The documents that the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) approved - that is the law on elections and when they looked at the project of constitutional changes - they absolutely fall out of the Minsk list of (conflict resolution) measures."
    Ukraine's representative in the Contact Group, Leonid Kuchma, who attended the talks did not make any comments.
    Earlier, separatists said a civilian and a rebel fighter had been killed in shelling by Ukrainian forces in the past 24 hours, while Ukraine's military reported a serviceman had been killed in rebel attacks.
    More than 6,500 people have been killed since the conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine in April last year.
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