EU welcomes agreement on withdrawal of small-caliber weapons in Donbas

This agreement was reached within the working group on security of the Trilateral Contact Group on settling the eastern Ukraine conflict. "The withdrawal would strengthen the ceasefire, which has been largely holding since the 1st of September, and contribute to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements in full respect of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity," reads the report. According to the statement, ahead of the Normandy Summit in Paris on October 2, it is now crucial to advance on the implementation of other provisions of the Minsk agreements, notably on local elections. The summit of the heads of state of four countries – Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia – called the Normandy four, is taking place in Paris on Friday, October 2nd.