Donbas Trilateral Contact Group signs arms removal agreement

The Trilateral Contact Group to resolve the Donbas conflict signed an agreement on Sept. 29 to remove armaments with calibers smaller than 100 mm from the Donbas conflict zone, or 15 km on either side of the separation line, OSCE Ambassador Martin Sajdik said, as reported by Interfax. The removal will occur in two stages, starting with tanks and artillery beginning two days after a full cease-fire and to be completed within 15 days, he said. The second stage will last 24 days involving mortars with calibers up to 120 mm, he said. “We will start to withdraw armaments with a caliber of less than 100 mm immediately after the document takes effect,” Denys Pushilin said, according to the report.

The document was signed by Sajdik, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Russian diplomat Azamat Kulmukhametov, Donetsk People’s Republic representative Denys Pushilin and Luhansk People’s Republic representative Vladyslav Deynega. It will be signed by the leaders of the self-declared republics, reported Daria Olifer, the press secretary of the Kuchma Presidential Fund.

Zenon Zawada: The Minsk accords calls for artillery systems of a caliber of 100 mm and larger to be removed from the conflict zone, and that has yet to happen. So there’s no reason to believe this agreement will take effect.