The Ukrainian party initiates the disengagement of forces and hardware in Donbas under the sectoral principle dividing the delimitation line into sectors, where gradual disengagement of forces will take place after the OSCE SMM verification, as stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his speech at the Munich Security Conference.
The President reminded that during the meeting in Paris, the leaders of the Normandy format had agreed to approve three additional areas of disengagement of forces and hardware, which should have taken place by the end of March 2020. Currently, the Ukrainian party has suggested one area, and it is almost approved. The work is in progress.
“I would also like to tell you about the initiative of the Ukrainian side on disengagement under the so-called sectoral principle dividing the delimitation line into sectors,” the President said.
According to the Head of State, the transition from one sector to another is only possible after the OSCE SMM verifies that there are no illegal armed groups, armed forces and military equipment in the sector.
“In the near future, we will inform the participants of the Normandy format in detail about the content of this initiative,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
The President also stated that despite the agreements in the Normandy format, the secure, safe and round-the-clock access of the OSCE SMM throughout the temporarily uncontrolled territory of Ukraine had not been ensured there yet.
According to the President, Ukraine continues to consistently and steadily adhere to a peaceful, diplomatic path of settlement in accordance with the rules of international law.
“We have agreed in Paris that we will confirm our commitment to a comprehensive ceasefire. But complete silence has not yet been secured,” the President noted.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the last two months, more than 400 incidences of shelling on Ukrainian positions have been recorded in Donbas. These continue to kill Ukrainian people and Ukrainian servicemen.
“Effective mechanisms are required for the ceasefire to take place in reality, not just in words,” the Head of State emphasized.
