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1st LD Writethru: Normandy format ministers call for strict implementation of Minsk agreements

Xinhua, February 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine -- under the so-called Normandy format -- on Tuesday renewed calls to impose the Minsk peace accord and reinforce the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) monitoring mission in Ukraine, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

"We, the four ministers, call for the strict implementation of all provisions of the Minsk agreements starting from a comprehensive ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons," Fabius said.

"We ask for a reinforcement of the special monitoring mission of the OSCE and for extending its mandate with the additional personnel, equipment and financing," he added, pledging more four-way initiatives "to ensure that this mandate is extended rapidly."

Fabius and his counterparts from Germany, Russia and Ukraine discussed the situation in Debaltseve, a strategic town taken by pro-Russian rebels. They also called on rival camps "to fully cooperate with the OSCE, with a view at fully implementing its mandate, especially regarding the monitoring and verification of the withdrawal of heavy weapons."

More than a week after the latest Minsk ceasefire agreement, separatist insurgents said Tuesday that they had begun pulling heavy weapons from the front line in east Ukraine.

However, Ukraine military sources said the military would start withdrawing heavy arms from the front line no earlier than two days after a complete ceasefire.

The Minks ceasefire deal was brokered by Paris and Berlin on Feb. 12 in the capital of Belarus. It envisages both sides withdrawing heavy weapons 25-70 km from the front line to create a buffer zone.

Under the agreement, both sides were meant to start withdrawing heavy weaponry from the battle area no later than two days after the start of a truce which came into force on Feb. 15. Endit