Yesterday, on October, 4 in the capital of Belarus the session of Tripartite contact group for Donbass took place. The press-secretary of the ex-president of Ukraine, representative in TCG Leonid Kuchma Daria Olifer has made a post in her Facebook about it.

TCG in Minsk has supported the initiative of the Head of SMM OSCE Ertuğrul Apakan about opening of the checkpoint ‘Zolote’ on October 20.

‘The Tripartite contact group unequivocally supported the initiative of the Head of the SMM OSCE, Ertuğrul Apakan, about the opening on October 20, 2017 ‘Zolote’ checkpoint – the corresponding decision of the leaders of the Normandy four countries was adopted a year ago, but NGCA of Luhansk region continue to block this issue’, Olifer wrote.

Also, according to her words, in the ranks of economic subgroup the RF representative has recognized the necessite of payment of a debt for used in NGCA water and ‘expressed readiness to participate in the developing of a mechanism of repayment according to Ukrainian legislation’.

Also, it was noted at the TCG session that in general the situation with safety stays disturbing. Once again the issue ‘of returning to the line of demarcation fixed by the Memorandum of September 19, 2014, according to which Debaltsevo must be controlled by Ukraine; the Kalmius, Kumachovo, Novoazovsk and Sakhanka regions should be free from heavy weapons; it’s necessary to provide security zones along the uncontrolled Ukraine section of the Ukrainian-Russian border’ was raised.

‘The recognition in RF documents issued by NGCA quasi-spheres, capturing of enterprises and introduction of ruble zone in the uncontrolled by Ukraine part of Donbass, establishing of a pseudo-border – all of this is the evidence of regress of Russia in the Minsk process, in which Russian Federation is not a mediator, but the side of a conflict’, Olifer noted.

Info: checkpoint ‘Zolote’ (Luhansk region) is equipped and ready to pass people from March 31, 2016. Its opening had been already agreed last autumn in the ranks of the Tripartite contact group. All sides of the consultations gave their agreement. This checkpoint is designed to cross 2 thousand cars and 5 thousand pedestrians daily. However, the NGCA authorities fail opening this checkpoint.