Kiev Hopes to Sign Ceasefire Protocol With Donetsk, Luhansk in OSCE Meeting

Ukrainian authorities are planning to signing a protocol on a complete ceasefire with the eastern Ukrainian self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting, according to General Staff spokesman Vladislav Seleznov.

KIEV, December 30 (Sputnik) – Kiev hopes to sign a protocol on a complete ceasefire with the eastern Ukrainian self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics when the parties meet with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a Ukrainian military spokesman said during a briefing Tuesday.

“It’s expected as a result of a working meeting in the near future that a protocol on the intent to a complete ceasefire will be formulated,” acting General Staff spokesman Vladislav Seleznov said.

Seleznov's statement follows Friday talks in Donetsk between representatives from Kiev and the Donetsk People's Republic. The meeting, during which a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy artillery and prisoner exchanges were discussed, did not yield any agreement.

The OSCE is part of the Contact Group on the situation in Ukraine. The group, which also includes representatives from Ukraine and Russia, met in Minsk, Belarus on September 19. During the meeting, the conflicting sides agreed to a ceasefire, though it has repeatedly been violated. The sides also agreed prisoner exchanges and have since conducted several rounds of it.