Donetsk, Oct 9 – DAN. The Ukrainian side has derailed the plan on renewal of disengagement of forces in the Petrovskoye area, said DPR representative at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) Ruslan Yakubov.
"Today, October 9, Ukrainian armed formations derailed the plan on the renewal of disengagement of forces in the Petrovskoye area endorsed by the Contact Group. Ukraine has failed to send a notification the OSCE SMM on its readiness to disengage forces and hardware," he said.
Ukraine ignored several DPR signals on the readiness to embark on the process, Yakubov said.
Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE SMM Mark Etherington arrived to Petrovskoye to monitor the renewal of disengagement.
Another attempt to start the pull-back is scheduled for October 10.
The Contact Group endorsed a plan to eliminate violations in Petrovskoye (DPR) and Zolotoye (LPR) on October 1, the process is to take 30 days and to begin on October 7.
LPR and DPR representatives initialed a Framework Agreement on pullback of forces in Donbass on September 21-23, 2016, which was also signed by representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE. The document provides for three disengagement areas around Zolotoye, Stanitsa Luganskaya (LPR territory) and Petrovskoe (DPR territory). Security zones of at least zone two km wide and two km long are to be established in each sector.
The Framework Agreement is key to further bilateral withdrawal of forces from the contact line which could significantly contribute to the peaceful settlement in the region. *ot