MINSK, 20 December 2017 – The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, made the following statement to the press after the meeting of the TCG ‎and its Working Groups in Minsk on 20 November 2017:

At today’s meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups, priority was given to the issues of security, compliance with the ceasefire and the exchange of detainees. With regard to this, the TCG adopted the following statement:

“The Trilateral Contact Group with the participation of representatives from certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in connection with the forthcoming Christmas and New Year festivities, stress the necessity to ensure peace and tranquility and, guided by earlier agreements and obligations of the sides:

•         Reaffirm their commitment to a comprehensive, sustainable and unlimited ceasefire, starting at 00:00 on 23 December 2017 (Kyiv time), underlining at the same time the necessity of the issuance of, and compliance with, the respective orders, including the necessity of disciplinary measures for ceasefire violations;

•         Confirm the ambition to accomplish, as earlier agreed, the exchange of detainees before the New Year and Christmas holidays;

•         Express their common commitment to the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements”.

And now about the discussions in the Working Groups.

The participants of the Economic Working Group continued discussions on water supply issues and the possibilities of arrears’ payment to the former employees of the Ukrainian Railways company in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (CADR and CALR).

The Political Working Group continued to discuss the issues related to the definition of the modalities of the “Steinmeier formula” as well as its future implementation.

Today was the last meeting of the TCG and its Working Groups this year. Taking this opportunity, on behalf of the TCG members and on my own behalf, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Republic of Belarus and in particular to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their all-round support for our work.

I want to express my gratitude to my colleagues in the TCG, President Leonid Kuchma and Boris Gryzlov, as well as to the representatives of CADR and CALR, Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego.

I also thank the Coordinators of the Working Groups Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan, Ambassador Pierre Morel, Ambassador Toni Frisch and Per Fischer. I am grateful to all the participants of the TCG and its Working Groups.

My gratitude also goes to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, and, of course, to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission for their activities for the benefit of the civilian population in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine.

I want to thank my colleagues in Kyiv, whose daily work is indispensable. I also express my appreciation to the team of Technical Unit Minsk: Anastasiya Labada, Sergei Kluchenovich, Sergei Paulavitski, Volha Hapeyeva and Igor Gorlatov.

Of course, I would like to thank all of you, media representatives, for your interest in our work. Your attention and high requirements to us are among the conditions of our common success.»

Finally, I express my gratitude to the OSCE Austrian Chairmanship for its contribution to our work in 2017.»