Kiev may resume trade with rebel-controlled areas in Donbas

KIEV, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Kiev may resume trade with the areas controlled by pro-independence insurgents in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, local media reported Tuesday, citing a senior Ukrainian parliament's official.

Ukrainian parliament deputy speaker Oksana Syroyid told local "5 TV-channel" that the draft law on Donbas re-integration, which is due to be put on vote in the parliament later in the day, includes a provision on trade resumption.

If the law is finally adopted, the Ukrainian army would supervise trade between the government-controlled and the non-government-controlled areas, Syroyid said.

The law on Donbas re-integration is aimed at returning the conflict-hit region to Kiev's sovereignty through peaceful means. The final text of the law has not been made public yet.

Trade suspension between the government-controlled and the non-government-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine started in March 2017 in the wake of transport blockades of Donbas, the economic damage of which was estimated at 1.8 billion U.S. dollars by the Ukrainian central bank.

Ukraine launched a military operation in Donbas in April 2014 after armed groups seized cities and towns in the region and declared independence. The confrontation has claimed more than 10,000 lives and left about 24,000 people injured. Enditem