Trilateral Contact Group resumes its activities

As the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG posted on Telegram, Oleksiy Reznikov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister for Reintegration of the Occupied Territories, First Deputy Chairperson of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG, reminded the Russian delegation of the trilateral nature of the TCG’s work and quoted German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who noted during a press conference in Kyiv that the Russian Federation was a party to the conflict with Ukraine.

In this regard, the Ukrainian delegation called on the Russian side to take responsibility for the implementation of the decisions taken with the participation of the Russian leadership and intermediary countries, France and Germany, in particular, during the Paris Summit in December 2019.

In the humanitarian working group, the Ukrainian delegation called for speeding up preparations for the next phase of the simultaneous mutual release of conflict-related detainees and urged the Russian side to unblock the work of the entry-exit checkpoints.

In the security working group, the Ukrainian delegation called for strict compliance with the ceasefire and the implementation of a set of mine action measures in the previously identified nineteen sites along the line of contact, thus ensuring safe access of citizens and civilian staff to critical infrastructure with a purpose of their continued operation and recovery.

Also, the Ukrainian side sent relevant notes to the OSCE to inform about gross violations of the ceasefire by Russian armed formations and losses suffered by Ukraine.

In the political working group, the Ukrainian delegation welcomed the unblocking of the group and called on the Russian side to focus on responsible work on the agenda and implementation of the decisions made by the Normandy format leaders.

The Ukrainian delegation continues to insist on the need to release all conflict-related detainees, taking all measures necessary for that, and to strictly adhere to the ceasefire.

The next meeting is scheduled for September 15.

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