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Ukraine, rebels agree to pull back troops, weapons

Representatives of Ukraine and separatist rebels agreed Wednesday to pull back troops and weapons from several areas in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to shore up a fragile peace agreement.

 

Darka Olifer, spokeswoman for ex-President Leonid Kuchma who represents Ukraine in the so-called Contact Group, said that the agreement signed in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, applies to three specific areas and will be monitored by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. She added that the deal was signed by Kuchma, Russian representative Boris Gryzlov and OSCE envoy Martin Sajdik. Rebel representatives in the group said that the separatist leaders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions would honor the agreement, Olifer added.

 

The conflict in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatist rebels and Ukrainian government troops has killed more than 9,600 people since it erupted in April 2014, according to the United Nations. A February 2015 agreement in Minsk, which was brokered by France and Germany, helped end large-scale battles, but smaller clashes have continued to claim lives and a political settlement has stalled.

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.21.16, 17:25