MOSCOW, January 16 (Sputnik) — A Contact Group meeting on the Ukrainian crisis, tentatively scheduled for Friday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, has been canceled, the press service of the Ukrainian Embassy in Belarus said.
"No, there will be no talks today," a press service employee told RIA Novosti.
According to earlier reports, a meeting of Russian Ambassador in Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma representing Kiev, OSCE envoy to Ukraine Heidi Tagliavini, and the representatives of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics (DPR and LPR) was scheduled for January 16 in Minsk.
Earlier on Friday, a statement on the OSCE website said that the Contact Group was ready for a new round of talks. On Thursday, the DPR's envoy at the reconciliation talks, Denis Pushilin, said he was headed to Minsk for the meeting.
The Contact Group on Ukraine has been holding meetings in the Belarusian capital since August 2014. The Minsk talks have resulted in major agreements on resolving the crisis in eastern Ukraine, including a breakthrough ceasefire deal between Kiev forces and eastern Ukrainian independence supporters, although both sides have reported truce violations.
