Lull in Ukrainian Conflict Should Aid Disengagement, Normalization

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The relative calm in Ukraine's breakaway southeastern regions should be used to disengage military presence in certain areas and normalize civilian life, Alexander Hug, the principal deputy chief monitor of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine told Sputnik on Thursday.

The OSCE has been tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Minsk deal on settling the conflict between Kiev and the pro-independence militias in Ukraine's east. In early May, the Normandy Quartet, comprising foreign ministers from Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine, met in Berlin and resolved to support the disengagement of forces along the line of contact, as stipulated in the Minsk agreements among other provisions.

"If we can build on the momentum generated in Berlin recently, and take advantage of the relative calm, much is possible. The sides can disengage in Stanytsia Luhanska and Zolote-Popasna; the areas can be de-mined; people can cross in safety. If normalization can be restored to these places, it points to wider possibilities," Hug said.

Violations of the ceasefire have been decreasing, he noted, adding that the level of violence still fluctuates too much to make any certain conclusions.

Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine’s southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities that came to power as a result of a coup. In February 2015, a peace agreement was signed between Ukraine’s conflicting sides in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.