Contact group on Ukraine approves mine clearance, ban on drills

Participants in the contact group on the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine have signed the document banning trainings within 30 kilometers from the contact line, OSCE Special Representative Martin Sajdik said here Wednesday.

The document refers to the total prohibition of military exercises, in which any kinds of combat weapons are used, Sajdik said, adding this ban will take effect in the early hours of Mar. 4.

According to the representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the execution of the decision is an important step in the ceasefire process. "I hope this decision will help to reduce tensions on the contact line," said Sajdik.

The parties also signed a document on mine-clearing operations. The armed forces and groups of the conflicting parties have bound themselves to secure before Mar. 31 the designating of the targeted areas and the mapping of the areas to be cleared from mines, he said.

The Joint Center for Control and Coordination will coordinate the mine-clearance with the help of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, Sajdik said.

The documents were signed by Sajdik, Ukraine's representative, former President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, and Russia's representative Boris Gryzlov. The documents must be signed by the representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Karnitskij, before the meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers in Normandy format, which will be held on Mar. 3 in Paris. Endit