The Special Representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Heidi Grau, has hailed the agreements reached by the TCG regarding guarantees that firefighting aircraft will be able to fly safely along the contact line in Luhansk region.
“I welcome that the TCG succeeded to agree on guarantees allowing the safe use of firefighting aircrafts in these areas close to the contact line,” Grau said after a regular meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups held via videoconference on Wednesday.
“The respective TCG meeting participants also took the commitment to provide the necessary security guarantees in view of the preparation of the simultaneous opening of two additional entry-exit crossing points (EECPs) near Zolote and Schastya of the Luhansk region. Preparatory and construction works will have to be completed within four months. The civilian population on both sides of the contact line has awaited this for a long time,” Grau said.
“I also welcome the fact that, in the Security Working Group, the sides reached a joint understanding of a significant number of priority areas for demining on both sides of the contact line, including all EECPs,” she said.
“Besides the topic of additional EECPs, the Humanitarian Working Group considered issues of the mutual release and exchange of conflict-related detainees as well as the search for missing persons,” Grau said.
“In the humanitarian sphere, I am concerned that under the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic the civilian population continues to face additional difficulties to cross the contact line, especially in the Donetsk region. This requires an immediate solution,” she said.
“The Economic Working Group focused on current issues of water supplies across the contact line, the provision of mobile communications by Vodafone-Ukraine, as well as environmental issues in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine,” Grau said.
The participants in the TCG political subgroup continued a detailed, line-by-line discussion of proposals on the law “On the Special Order of Local Self-Government in the Certain Areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Regions” aimed at introducing these areas’ special status after the local elections envisioned by the Minsk Agreements, she said.
