MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held separate telephone talks with his German and Ukrainian counterparts Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Pavlo Klimkin over the withdrawal of weapons in eastern Ukraine, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement published Saturday.
"During the conversation was emphasized the necessity of a speedy withdrawal of Ukrainian military units from the village Shirokino where Donbass independence militia units have already been withdrawn. Ministers supported similar actions in other parts of the contact line and called for the OSCE and the JCCC assistance in this process," the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on the conversation with Steinmeier reads.
According to the ministry's statement on Lavrov's telephone conversation with Klimkin, Kremlin accentuated the importance of completing the weapons withdrawal by both Kiev authorities and Donbass independence supporters, as agreed under the February ceasefire deal reached in Minsk.
Earlier in the day, Donbass independence supporters stated they decided to unilaterally withdraw weapons to a distance of at least 1.8 miles from the line of contact with government troops and awaited Kiev's response to proceed with the agreement.
