1ST LEAD Fresh clashes in eastern Ukraine overshadow ceasefire talks By …
Kyiv (dpa) – A fresh round of peace talks with representatives for
the Ukrainian government and leaders of the country‘s pro-Russian
separatists kicked off Friday amid reports of fresh bloodshed in
eastern Ukraine.
Former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, who represents the
government in Kyiv, and Russia‘s ambassador to Ukraine, Mikhail
Zurabov, said they hope the talks in Minsk, Belarus‘ capital, will
move the peace process forward, Russian news agencies reported.
Kuchma and Luhansk separatist leader Alexei Karyakin said the main
topic would be ensuring that the fragile ceasefire is obeyed. Both
stressed that monitors from the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), who mediated Friday‘s talks, should
play a crucial role, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.
The unlimited ceasefire was introduced after similar talks in Minsk
on September 5.
Friday‘s talks started about four hours later than planned.
The separatists insisted that they want sovereignty from Kyiv for the
self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people‘s republics.
“We expect to sign a document that reflects our position on a special
status,” Donetsk rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko was quoted as
saying by Interfax.
The Ukrainian parliament this week passed a bill that grants the
separatists wide-ranging autonomy, including the right to maintain
their own people‘s militias.
The law refers to a temporary special political status, which
Ukrainian officials insisted does not mean sovereignty. Some
lawmakers in Kyiv have criticized this status as going too far and
warned they will challenge the bill, which has not yet been signed by
President Petro Poroshenko.
The president met with his US counterpart, Barack Obama, Thursday in
Washington. The White House announced aid of an additional 53 million
dollars to Poroshenko‘s government, most of which was earmarked for
non-lethal military gear and not weapons.
Earlier on Friday, fresh clashes were reported in eastern Ukraine,
killing seven people and injuring eight.
Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council spokesman Andriy
Lysenko said two soldiers had been killed and three injured in the
last 24 hours, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.
A search was ongoing for six servicemen who went missing in the same
period, Lysenko said.
In the cities of Donetsk and Makiivka, three civilians were killed
and three were wounded by artillery fire, local authorities said.
Lysenko said the separatists violated the ceasefire by firing on
government positions in at least 17 locations during the 24-hour time
frame.
The rebels said they only returned fire when attacked by government
forces. One commander told Interfax that two civilians were killed in
the Luhansk town of Slovianoserbsk and two fighters were injured.