Ukraine, Croatia to deepen dialogue on reintegration of non-controlled territories

KIEV, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine and Croatia agreed on Monday to deepen dialogue on reintegration of non-controlled territories, the Ukrainian government press service said.

The agreement was reached in a meeting here between Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and visiting Croatian Labor and Pension System Minister Marko Pavic, said a statement on the Ukrainian government website.

Groysman said that his government is interested in learning about Croatia's unique experiences in peaceful reintegration of non-controlled territories and is willing to apply them in Ukraine, according to the statement.

In particular, Kiev is counting on Zagreb's consultative assistance on issues related to creating proper social and working conditions for conflict participants and internally displaced persons, the statement said.

For his part, Pavic said that Croatia is ready to share with Ukraine its experience of peaceful reintegration of territories which fell beyond government control.

Ukraine is troubled by a conflict in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which broke out in April 2014 after government forces launched offensives to regain control of the cities and towns seized by armed groups which declared independence from Kiev.

The conflict has uprooted about 2 million Ukrainians. More than 1.4 million of them are still registered as internally displaced persons.

A law on the return of the Donbas region under Kiev's sovereignty, the so-called law on Donbas reintegration, came into force in Ukraine in February. Enditem