KYIV. March 15 (Interfax) - The number of Donbas ceasefire violations has declined significantly, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik, said in a statement posted on the OSCE website on Thursday.
"Recently it has become possible to significantly reduce the average number of ceasefire violations to one of the lowest levels over the past two years. This year, it has also been possible to achieve a significant reduction in the number of civilian casualties. Compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, the respective number has declined three times, according to the preliminary data provided by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission," Sajdik said.
He also mentioned the subjects discussed at the March 14 meetings of the TCG subgroups in Minsk. The security subgroup addressed the further implementation of the ceasefire and the general situation in the conflict zone. The participants "stressed that the successful implementation of ceasefire requires strict adherence to the previously agreed principles, such as: avoiding forward movements and reconnaissance missions; withdrawal of heavy weapons, especially from populated areas; and securing civil infrastructure," Sajdik said.
The economic subgroup discussed the operation of the mobile network Vodafone-Ukraine in Donbas.
"The participants of the Working Group discussed the issues of water deliveries in the supply systems 'Karbonyt' and 'Voda Donbassa,' repayment of arrears to former employees of the Ukrainian Railways in CADR and CALR as well as the return of freight cars currently located in the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine," Sajdik said.
The humanitarian subgroup continued the discussion of issues related to the exchange of detainees, he said.