Negotiators in Ukrainian peace talks agree to create buffer zone

Negotiators in Ukrainian peace talks agree to create buffer zone

PanARMENIAN.Net - Negotiators in Ukrainian peace talks agreed early Saturday, Sept 20, to create a buffer zone to separate government troops and pro-Russian militants and withdraw heavy weapons and foreign fighters in order to ensure a stable truce in eastern Ukraine.

The deal reached by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the pro-Moscow fighters and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe marks an effort to add substance to a cease-fire agreement that was signed on Sept 5 but has been frequently broken by clashes, the Associated Press reports.

The memorandum signed after hours of talks that dragged late into the night says that the conflicting parties should stay strictly where they were Friday and make no attempts to advance.

Leonid Kuchma, a former Ukrainian president who represented the Kiev government in the talks, said the memorandum will be implemented within a day.

Under the terms of the deal, reached in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, each party must pull its artillery at least 15 kilometers (9 miles) back, setting up a buffer zone that would be 30 kilometers (19 miles) wide.

The longer-range artillery systems are to be pulled even farther back to make sure the parties can't reach one another.

The deal also specifically bans flights by combat aircraft over the area of conflict and setting up new minefields, the AP says.

The memorandum also envisages the withdrawal of "all foreign armed units and weapons, as well as militants and mercenaries" — a diplomatic reference to Russians fighting alongside the rebels.

Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of fueling the insurgency in eastern Ukraine with weapons and soldiers. Moscow has denied that, saying that Russians who joined the mutiny did so as private citizens.

The negotiators, however, have left aside the most explosive issue — the future status of the rebel regions.

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