“The meeting to take place on December 9 or on any other day has no relation to the “day of silence” because the [ceasefire] agreements have already been reached. And I would like to stress once again that the Ukrainian armed forces are ready for ceasefire,” Stepan Poltorak said.
On Friday, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President's Administration Valeriy Chaliy said that the possible "day of silence" would allow the withdrawal of heavy arms and artillery and mark the renewed start of the peace process between the parties to the military conflict.
Last week, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced his decision to introduce a silence regime along the line in the southeast of the country separating Kiev forces and independence supporters starting December 9. Poroshenko said the step was a renewed effort to implement a truce between the opposing parties.
Poroshenko also announced that the next Contact Group meeting will be held in Minsk on December 9.
The Contact Group on the Ukrainian crisis comprises representatives from Russia, Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's republics (DPR, LPR), and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The group"s previous meeting on September 5 ended in a ceasefire agreement between Kiev forces and eastern Ukrainian independence supporters. Another meeting on September 19 set the provisions for the ceasefire's implementation. However, since then both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce.
