Donetsk, Mar 27 – DAN. Ukraine has refused to sign the draft of the Contact Group statement that included additional measures of ceasefire control, the DPR Foreign Ministry said following the publication of the document.
"In addition to the results of the meeting we publish the draft of the Contact Group statement that might have been signed by the participants," the statement reads.
Ukrainian side refused to sign the document and proposed to erase a number of listed measures concerning the facilitation and strengthening of ceasefire. In particular Kiev objected to:
- Public statements of top commanders on orders to cease fire;
- Ban on offensives and reconnaissance-sabotage operations;
- Ban on any fire including snipers;
- Support of direct telephone communication in case of ceasefire violations.
The Republics have signed the proto9col as a sign of their support of the initiative.
"The ten hours of negotiations were spent in vain as Ukraine refused decisions on truce, exchange lists, political settlement mechanisms. Obviously, no oral statements of the Contact Group have practical meaning without written documentation of the meetings results and sides' obligations," the DPR Foreign Ministry said.
The Contact Group held a video meeting on March 26 to discuss all the issues on the agenda of its subgroups: special status, Advisory Board, ceasefire, POW exchange, disengagement of forces, etc. *ot