MINSK (Sputnik) — Delegates from Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are in Minsk for Tuesday consultations on a Donbass conflict settlement, a source close to the talks said.
The unnamed source said Russian envoy Azamat Kulmukhametov and OSCE envoy Heidi Tagliavini have arrived in the Belarusian capital earlier for the latest round of Contact Group negotiations.
"Ukraine's Contact Group envoy Leonid Kuchma has literally moments ago touched down at the Minsk [National] Airport," the source told RIA Novosti.
Representatives of the DPR and LPR are in Minsk for the reconciliation talks, DPR parliamentary speaker Andrei Purgin told RIA Novosti.
The latest Contact Group talks are scheduled for 4:00 p.m. local time (13:00 GMT), and recent escalations in violence beginning June 3 are expected to be at the center of discussions. Constitutional reform and regional elections are also expected to be on Tuesday's agenda.
@GIS_Info Heidi Tagliavini's resignation might make all of the OSCE's progress in Ukraine moot.
— Jason Buttrill (@JasonButtrill) June 10, 2015
Swiss officials announced Tagliavini's resignation from her post earlier in the month, a result of disagreements with Contact Group negotiators. Her as-yet-unidentified successor was believed to be present at last Wednesday's so-called Normandy format talks in Paris.
The United Nations estimates that over 6,500 have died in clashes between government forces and independent supporters dating back to April 2014.
