Ukrainian, Italian FMs visit conflict-hit Donbas

KIEV, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and his visiting Italian counterpart Angelino Alfano, also the chairperson-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), visited Ukraine's conflict-hit eastern region of Donbas on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Twitter that the two ministers visited a frontline city of Mariupol, where they had talks with the representatives of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine.

The ministers also paid a field visit to Pischevik checkpoint, where about 4,000 people per day cross the contact line between the conflicting forces.

During the visit, Klimkin informed Alfano about the latest developments in the conflict-hit region.

Alfano arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday for a two-day visit, aimed at holding talks with Ukrainian authorities and assessing the Donbas security situation on the ground.

The conflict between government troops and pro-independence rebels in Donbas has been underway since April 2014, killing more than 10,000 people.

Italy took over the OSCE chairmanship on Jan. 1 this year. Enditem