Russia must withdraw its troops from eastern Ukraine - Stoltenberg

Russia must withdraw all its troops and all its officers from eastern Ukraine and stop destabilizing the situation in the region, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

He said this at a press conference in Odesa on Wednesday, October 30, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"We welcome all efforts to reduce tensions, to withdraw forces and to make sure that we have a peaceful solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. [...] I welcome the renewed effort and renewed energy from President [Volodymyr] Zelensky to try to find a peaceful solution, and NATO supports those efforts. But, of course, NATO also states very clearly that Russia has a special responsibility to implement the Minsk agreements and that they must withdraw all their troops, all their officers from eastern Ukraine and stop destabilizing eastern Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.

Stolteberg is on an official visit to Odesa on October 30. He visited the seaport, where four NATO minesweepers arrived on October 29.

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