KIEV, September 21 (RIA Novosti) – The conflict between the Ukrainian government and independence supporters is de-escalating, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told the Ukrainian television channels in an interview Sunday.
"We are having a de-escalation, no matter who says what," Poroshenko said.
Speaking about the laws, guaranteeing a special administration regime for the embattled regions of eastern Ukraine and an amnesty to pro-independence fighters, the Ukrainian leader stressed that he upholds a "clear position of peace, and these laws are aimed at the implication of a peace plan."
He added that the release of over 1,500 captive members of pro-independence militias is reasonable, as it allows achieving a ceasefire memorandum, drawn up in Minsk on Friday.
The Ukrainian government forces and southeastern Ukraine's independence supporters agreed on a ceasefire and an «all-for-all» prisoner exchange on September 5 at a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine, held in Minsk. The group's meeting on Friday resulted in a memorandum, which includes the establishment of a 30-kilometers buffer zone and withdrawal of heavy weapons from the contact line.
Earlier, the Ukrainian parliament approved bills, granting amnesty for pro-independence fighters, who committed no administrative or criminal offenses and introducing a three-year special administration regime in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
