The latest round of talks of the contact group of representatives of the Kyiv authorities, ‘separatists’, Russia and the OSCE, ended in Minsk in the early hours on 20 September with the adoption of the “Minsk memorandum” building on the 5 September Minsk Protocol that established a ceasefire, RIA Novosti reported.
It said in a report at 07:32 Kyiv time that the sides agreed to set up a 30-km “security zone” between the warring sides, which should be free from any heavy weapons and where an OSCE monitoring mission is to be deployed. The memorandum also bans military aircraft from flying above that zone and envisages the withdrawal of “all foreign armed groups, military hardware as well as militants and mercenaries” from #Ukrainian territory. Some of the practical steps agreed by the sides are expected to come into force as of 20:00 on 20 September.
This is the text of the memorandum, consisting of nine points, as read out by the Kyiv representative at the talks, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.
Minsk memorandum
- The ceasefire is considered universal.
- Units and military formations of both sides stop at the line of contact as of 19 September.
- Use of all types of weapons and offensive operations is banned.
- Within 24 hours of adoption of this memorandum, weapons of more than 100 mm in calibre are to be pulled back at least 15 km from the line of contact by both sides, including from population centers, which makes it possible to create a ceasefire zone at least 30 km wide, a security zone. Artillery systems with more than 100 mm calibre at the line of contact are to be pulled back out of range.
- Heavy weapons and military hardware are banned from an area within the boundaries of specific population centers. (Kuchma did not read them out.)
- It is banned to set up new mined obstacles at the boundaries of the security zone. All mined obstacles set up in the security zone previously are to be cleared.
- From the moment this memorandum is adopted, military aircraft and foreign aircraft, with the exception of OSCE aircraft, are banned from flying above the security zone.
- An OSCE monitoring mission, consisting of OSCE observers, is to be deployed in the ceasefire zone within 24 hours after this memorandum is adopted. The above zone should be divided into sectors, with the number of their borders to be agreed during preparations for the work of the OSCE observation mission monitoring group.
- All foreign armed groups, military hardware as well as militants and mercenaries are to be withdrawn from Ukrainian territory under OSCE monitoring.
