Peter Tolstoy
Russian and Ukrainian parliamentarians met in Vienna in the framework of the OSCE parliamentary Assembly, where he discussed the settlement of the conflict in the Donbass. It is reported RIA Novosti with reference to the head of the Russian delegation, Vice-speaker of the state Duma Peter Tolstoy.
According to him, the talks were also attended by the Secretary General of the OSCE PA Roberto Montella and the President of the Assembly Christine Muttonen.
Tolstoy expressed “urgent desire to return to Kiev in the direction of the Minsk agreements and to respect them point by point in order to achieve the goal,” to stop the bloodshed and sit down at the negotiating table with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics.
Muttonen invited the heads of delegations of the two countries to hold separate talks on the issue and more detailed and balanced approach to the solution of existing problems.
“We expressed our willingness to communicate with our colleagues in order to help resolve the crisis in the neighboring country,” — said Vice-speaker of the state Duma.
In late January, the situation deteriorated in the conflict zone in the South-East of Ukraine. This happened after the attempts of the Ukrainian security forces to take the offensive. The battles of Avdiyivka were the most violent since August 2015, when Kiev security forces conducted massive bombardment of the territory of the DNI.
The OSCE has explained the escalation of the conflict to close proximity of troops of the warring parties, as well as the fact that heavy weaponry is still on both sides of the line of contact, although according to the Minsk agreements it should be given much further.
The Minsk agreement is the document agreed in February 2015 leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia in the format “Norman Quartet.” It is aimed at de-escalation of the armed conflict in the Donbass.