Participants in the Contact Group meeting currently underway in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk have squared a scheme of withdrawal of heavy weapons, agreed a ceasefire regime and mechanisms of control over the implementation of agreements reached. The sides also discussed future political structure of Donbass, a well-informed source told TASS on Tuesday.
"The Minsk talks have squared a scheme of withdrawal of heavy weapons. The parties have also agree a ceasefire regime and control over its observance. The sides also discussed local elections and Donbass' state structure, its form of government," the source said.
Taking part in the talks were Viktor Medvedchuk, the special envoy for humanitarian issues and the leader of the Ukrainian Choice public organization, Leonif Kuchma, Ukraine's former president, both representing the Ukrainian side; representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego; Heidi Tagliavini, the special envoy of the chairperson-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); and Russia's Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, who acted as a mediator.
Representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics have handed over to members of the Contact Group their proposals on peace settlement in eastern Ukraine, DPR's representative said.
"We handed over to the members of the Tripartite Contact Group a draft protocol which provided for a set of measures on military and political settlement. The sides in the Contact Group took this draft protocol and promised to give an answer after a break," the Donetsk News Agency quoted him as saying.
It is not yet known when the meeting will be continued.