Minsk once again hosts talks on Ukraine peace

The awaited Minsk negotiations for peace in eastern Ukraine have kicked off in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, after the talks were cancelled once.

Ukraine’s former president, Leonid Kuchma, Heidi Tagliavini from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego, who represent pro-Russian forces, as well as Russian Ambassador to Kiev Mikhail Zurabov, were in Minsk on Saturday.

Pro-Kremlin Ukrainian businessman and politician, Viktor Medvedchuk, also attended the talks, which came after a September 2014 ceasefire fell apart due to the latest spate of violence in Ukraine’s east.

The OSCE officials have expressed hope that a “binding” truce would be established and allow for the “unrestricted supply of basic goods and humanitarian assistance” as the death toll is increasing in the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk that are under the control of pro-Russians.

Last week, pro-Russia forces abandoned the peace talks and said they had launched an operation aimed at extending their control over a much broader swathe of Ukraine’s southeast.

On Friday, they threatened to continue their offensive “until the entire Donetsk and Lugansk regions are freed” if the negotiations fail to yield results.

Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said fighting left 15 Ukrainian soldiers dead and 30 others injured in a span of 24 hours.

The violence is raging around the strategic city of Debaltseve, which is under the control of Kiev. The transport hub is located some 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Donetsk.

Pro-Russians also said they had taken control of the town of Vuglegirsk near Debaltseve.

In September 2014, Minsk hosted the representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, who finally inked a ceasefire deal to end deadly clashes in eastern Ukraine. However, the truce has been violated on an almost daily basis by both the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia forces.

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in April 2014, in a bid to crush the pro-Russians.

The fighting has left more than 5,100 people killed and over 1.5 million displaced, the United Nations says.

MR/HSN/SS

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