Plotnitsky is alarmed by Ukraine’s delay in arms withdrawal
Kiev’s delay in starting the withdrawal from the contact line of tanks and weapons with a caliber of less than 100 mm, as provided for in the Minsk agreements, is alarming.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator – Kyiv news on Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
The head of the LPR, Igor Plotnitsky, announced this today.
“The LPR people’s militia began the withdrawal of weapons yesterday (October 3 – note), strictly following the letter of the withdrawal agreement, which I signed last Wednesday. Kyiv, unfortunately, has not yet started the withdrawal. We expect symmetrical measures from the Ukrainian side,” he said.
“And, although Kiev still has time for this (to begin the withdrawal of weapons - LIC note) according to the agreement, the delay in the withdrawal cannot but be alarming,” noted the head of the Republic.
Let us recall that on September 30, the head of the LPR signed an Addendum to the Set of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements of February 12, 2015, regarding the withdrawal of tanks, as well as artillery pieces of up to 100 mm caliber and mortars of up to 120 mm caliber inclusive.
A day earlier, on September 29, following a meeting of the Contact Group and its working subgroup on security in Minsk, the negotiating parties initialed a document on the withdrawal of weapons with a caliber of less than 15 mm and tanks from the contact line 100 kilometers in each direction. The withdrawal will be carried out in two stages. First the tanks will be withdrawn, then the artillery, then the mortars. The first stage should begin two days after the complete ceasefire and end after 15 days. The duration of the second stage, according to the plan, will be 24 days. Thus, the withdrawal period should be 41 days.
The withdrawal will begin in the “North” sector, in the zone of responsibility of the LPR People’s Militia, then weapons will be withdrawn on the contact line in the DPR in the “South” sector. The withdrawal of LPR weapons and equipment is planned for the periods from October 3 to October 17 and from October 18 to November 10.
On October 3, the LPR began the withdrawal of tanks provided for by the Minsk agreements to new locations located at least 15 km from the contact line. The headquarters of the People's Militia of the Republic clarified that the withdrawal was carried out from territories adjacent to the capital of the LPR. This is, in particular, the Aleksandrovsky training ground and the area of the former base of the Transpele company. In addition, armored vehicles were withdrawn from the area of the village of Novogrigorievka, Slavyanoserbsky district.
On February 12 of this year, participants in the Contact Group on resolving the situation in Donbass signed in Minsk a set of measures agreed with the heads of the Normandy Four member countries (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine) to implement the Minsk agreements.
The document provides for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the contact line, the beginning of a dialogue on the restoration of socio-economic ties between Kiev and Donbass, as well as reform of the Ukrainian constitution with the aim of decentralization and consolidating the “special status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.”
English version :: Read in English Plotnitsky is concerned about Ukraine's delay in withdrawing weapons