The next meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on the peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas will be held on August 18, despite the recent developments in Belarus, and it will address important issues, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
"I am confident that the process (Minsk negotiations) will not stop. The next meeting is scheduled for August 18. The meeting will be in a new format chaired by Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk," the President said speaking to the media in the city of Boryspil, Kyiv region.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that among the main issues that will be considered at the next TCG meeting is the continuation of ceasefire and the swap of detainees.
"We have already submitted a new list (of persons for the exchange) to the OSCE. The OSCE has confirmed our swap list. It includes about 100 people. Now we are waiting on the other side, they will provide their agreed list, and then the OSCE must decide in the Ukraine-Russia-OSCE format in the Trilateral Contact Group, when the swap can technically take place," the President said.
The President said that the TCG meeting will also consider issues of demining and security.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointed out the need for the immediate release of all Ukrainian citizens who were recently detained in Belarus.
"We are talking to the Foreign Ministry, and yesterday they contacted the Belarusian side... According to today's statistics, three Ukrainian citizens have been detained there. Negotiations are underway. We urgently want our citizens to be returned to Ukraine," the head of state said.
The President stressed the need for dialog "so that there would be no deaths or injuries."
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also asked his fellow citizens to refrain from traveling to Belarus until the situation in this country stabilizes.