The President had a meeting with OSCE representative in the Trilateral Contact Group on the peaceful resolution of the situation in Donbas Martin Sajdik. “We must do everything possible to make the TCG mechanism more efficient,” Petro Poroshenko emphasized.
The President emphasized full implementation of Ukraine’s political commitments under the Minsk agreements of February 12, 2015, inter alia, in the context of the constitutional reform on decentralization.
Martin Sajdik praised the approval of the constitutional amendments on decentralization in the first reading by the Parliament on August 31. He also expressed condolences over the escalation of violence near the Parliament that led to casualties. The OSCE representative supported the decisive efforts of the President aimed to conduct efficient investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The parties praised the implementation of the agreement on the establishment of the ceasefire regime achieved at the initiative of the Ukrainian President and expressed hope that the ceasefire will become sustainable.
The Head of State emphasized that the militants must abandon the idea of holding the illegal elections in Donbas and urged to promptly begin the discussion of modality of holding local elections in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the Ukrainian legislation and the OSCE standards within the subgroup on political issues. “We must conduct the elections strictly under the Minsk agreements – in compliance with the Ukrainian legislation, on the basis of the ODIHR principles, with participation of foreign observers that will guarantee the observation of the OSCE standards. Elections must be free and fair,” Petro Poroshenko noted.
President Poroshenko called for the unconditional fulfillment of the Minsk agreements on the liberation of hostages under the principle “all for all”, as well as Ukrainian citizens illegally jailed in Russia: Nadiya Savchenko, Oleh Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko etc.
Speaking of the activity of the subgroup on socio-economic issues, the President assured that the Ukrainian party is willing to implement previously approved projects on the restoration of ruined Donbas infrastructure. However, strict observance of the ceasefire by militants is an essential precondition for that.
The Head of State emphasized that the Trilateral Contact Group must significantly enhance direct political control over the activity of its four working subgroups on security, political, humanitarian and socio-economic issues. For this end, President Poroshenko urged the representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE in the Trilateral Contact Group to establish and maintain regular working contacts.