Minsk Peace Talks on Ukraine Unlikely to Resume December 26: Source

The so-called Contact Group is unlikely to continue the Ukrainian peace talks on December 26, as the representatives of Russia, the Kiev government, independence supporters and the OSCE have reportedly left Minsk.

MOSCOW, December 25 (Sputnik) – The next meeting of the so-called Contact Group on Ukraine is unlikely to take place on December 26, as those participating in the talks in Minsk left Belarusian capital late on Wednesday, a source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RIA Novosti.

"I don’t think that the meeting will take place December 26. All participants reportedly left," the source told the news agency.

Earlier, Denis Pushilin, the DPR negotiator, told RIA Novosti that the date and time for the next meeting remain unset and are still being discussed.
The so-called Contact Group on Ukraine comprises of representatives from Russia, the Kiev government, the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR, LPR) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The latest meeting of the Contact Group took place in Minsk on Wednesday.

The previous meetings were held in Minsk on September 5 and 19. The talks resulted in a ceasefire agreement between DPR, LPR and Kiev. In mid-April, Kiev launched a military operation in the southeast of Ukraine after local residents refused to recognize the new government, which came to power after a coup in February.

Despite the truce, both independence supporters and Kiev forces have accused each other of violating the Minsk agreement multiple times.