Parties to conflict in Donbas ‘approaching’ each other - OSCE

This was stated by Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE SMM Alexander Hug at the briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Donetsk and its suburbs, in particular, the area outside the airport, are still relatively calm except for yesterday, when we recorded some cases of ceasefire violation," he said.

In addition, he said, the fighting continues in and around Horlivka (39 km north-east of Donetsk).

He stressed that it had become recently evident that the distance between the parties along the contact line was being reduced: "In recent months, we have been observing that the parties approaching each other along the line of contact, especially in the west and northwest suburbs of Horlivka and outside Zaitseve [67km north-north-east of Donetsk]."

The Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE SMM noted that such actions posed a threat as they were taking place where there should be a "safety zone."

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