MINSK. June 13 (Interfax) - All negotiators in Minsk have agreed that this format has enabled a significant de-escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Boris Gryzlov, Russia's authorized representative to the Trilateral Contract Group (TCG) mediating the conflict, said.
"Today, at the Contact Group meeting, all participants reaffirmed the importance of the Minsk format for resolving the conflict in Ukraine," Gryzlov told reporters after the TCG meeting on Wednesday.
The group first met on September 4, 2014, he said.
"All four of its subgroups have been working since May 6, 2015 and have held over 80 working group meetings on security, political, and humanitarian issues and over 70 on economic issues. In all, 85 Contact Group meetings have been held," Gryzlov said.
"The result has been a significant reduction of conflict escalation," he said.