Normandy Four Leaders Agreed on Necessity of Absolute Cease-fire in Donbas

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko held a phone conversation with the leaders of Germany, France and Russian Federation and informed on the escalation of the situation in Donbas over the past weeks.

He also stressed the inadmissibility of the non-fulfillment of the Minsk agreements by Russia and pro-Russian militants, Censor.NET reports citing the press office of the president.

The head of state stressed that the OSCE should receive full access to the entire occupied territory up to the border. The president reiterated the necessity of withdrawing all occupation troops from the territory of Ukraine.

The interlocutors agreed on the necessity of absolute ceasefire. They also called for the intensification of the Trilateral Contact Group's work in early 2016 over the modalities of holding local elections in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) should be involved in these activities.

In this context, the president emphasized the need for abolishing fake "elections" scheduled by pro-Russian militants. Once again, he noted that the elections in Donbas should be held with participation of Ukrainian parties, media, Central Election Commission, international observers and in full compliance with the OSCE/ODIHR standards.

With a view to maintain order and security of the electoral process, the Ukrainian President offered to deploy the EU's special peacekeeping mission according to the Common Security and Defense Policy of the European Union.